By Mashal Afghan

KABUL (TSAT) - The ongoing propaganda and fake news against new Afghan Taliban government in Afghanistan have put them into trouble, local journalists and official said.

Since August last year when Taliban took over capital Kabul and most journalists and former government officials fled the country have launched anti-Taliban propaganda on social media accusing them for torturing the former government army, police and officials.

The propaganda campaign has also put the foreign journalists, who want to travel Afghanistan for covering the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country, into difficult situation as now the journalists visas need prior approval from Kabul before issuing by any Afghan embassy abroad.

"Recently when i was coming Kabul, got the visa after very a lengthy process as one officer told me that most western media file fake news, that compelled Taliban government to change its policy," a journalist who came from a western country told the South Asia Times on condition of anonymity because of his security.

"I agreed with this because some time our colleagues only covering that news which damage the Taliban reputation and present them as brutal rulers before the world," he added.

Last week, the Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said that during their acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meetings with western countries official in Oslo Norway, most of them raised some issues which were based on propaganda and their delegation clarified them the actual ground situation.

On Friday, Taliban government asked the media outlets and journalists in the country to renew their licenses and accreditation cards.

As some Afghan journalists who are currently living in western countries have already begun anti-Taliban campaign, posting years old video of violence and criticising Taliban for torturing the former government army, police and officials.

Under the new order, if they want to operate their news organisations in Afghanistan will need to renew their licenses.

The sharing of old videos with fake news have also created problems for the local journalists who are still on the ground in Kabul and saying their foreign organisations demanding for stories sharing that tweets while no such accident took place.

“This is big issue with us as many of our former colleagues who were working with foreign and local media outlets and now fled to Canada, Australia, US and Europe are sharing fake news and videos on Twitter that creating problem for us here,” a journalist in Kabul told the South Asia Times requested anonymity due to current security situation in the war-torn country.

“Our organisations sending that tweets and asking to file stories but how we can do stories on old videos ,” he added.

Currently most journalists and analysts in Kabul do not talk with media people on the record because of their personnel security.

- New union formation

Now Afghan journalists living abroad has launched a campaign to form their new union of Afghan journalists which is opposing by the local journalists.

“We are the journalists who are still present on the ground and how anyone who is living outside Afghanistan could claim as Afghan journalist and trying to snatch our rights,” he added.

Meanwhile Afghan Taliban government said that there is an active journalists federation in Kabul and its members are working and reporting without any restrictions.

“While there is already an active media federation in Kabul with a number of active media members, the announcement of a second federation and the so-called media membership that ceased years ago or whose leaders left the country, running away is not a good idea,” said the Taliban government spokesman.

“If the media outlets really want to operate as normal media outlets, they must renew their expired licenses, pay the taxes and operate in a genuine and healthy manner within the framework of the media law,” said  Zabihullah Mujahid.

As currently some media outlets and broadcasters have offices in Kabul, however most of their key officials and journalists working from abroad.

Most of these outlets belongs to anti-Taliban people and Taliban accusing them for spreading fake propaganda against their government.

On Jan. 27, Ihtesham Afghan, a twitter user posted a video and said Tanks and armoured vehicles used by the Afghan army are now being brought to Pakistan and accused Taliban are not Afghan but enemy of Afghanistan. His post liked and shared by Bilal Sarwary a senior Afghan journalist currently living in Canada.

While the video is many year old of NATO supply when they had used Pakistani route for carrying their shipments to Afghanistan.