Wolesi Jirga apologizes for restriction on media

The administrative board of the House of Representatives has officially apologized for preventing media from filming Parliament’s session.

Recently, the House of Representatives considered a specified spot outside the assembly hall for the reporters and said they were restricted from recording images of the general session of the House.

Until now the reporters in order to cover the meeting have been required to use fixed cameras in the Hall through which they are unable to film the sessions directly.

This has provoked the anger of reporters, saying through this restriction the House is censoring some events.

Journalists and reporters on Saturday declared that until the restrictions were lifted from the media, they would not cover any of Wolesi Jirga’s sessions.

In response to these reactions, deputy secretary of the Wolesi Jirga Farhad Azimi apologized for preventing media from imaging Saturday’s session in which the defense and interior ministers were summoned and then declared disqualified by the MPs.

The Minister of Information and Culture Syed Makhdom Rahin also expressed his concerns regarding the restrictions on media, saying it was contrary to the freedom of expression.

He said, “With the exception of coverage of some secret and highly classified meetings, the restrictions on media are against the law.”

Though the government has long maintained that it supports the freedom of expression, many government departments prohibit media from getting information.