TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Soldier Taliban surprisingly appeared on national television broadcasts. Not as sources, they were recorded pointing a gun at a broadcaster who was on the air.
Video viral itu dibagikan melalui akun Twitter seorang wartawan BBC, Yalda Hakim. Dalam rekaman itu, pembawa acara program debat politik Pardaz dari jaringan TV Afghanistan Peace Studio sedang membacakan pernyataan dari Taliban. Di belakangnya, dua anggota Taliban dengan senjata laras panjang berdiri mengancam.
Rekaman video yang dibagikan Yalda Hakim tersebut tidak dalam bahasa Inggris dan tak ada teks pengantar. Menurut Hakim, pembawa acara sedang membahas jatuhnya pemerintahan Afghanistan. Penyiar laki-laki juga meminta agar rakyat jangan takut terhadap Taliban.
Hakim menggambarkan situasi tersbeut adalah nyata. "Inilah yang sekarang terlihat seperti debat politik di TV Afghanistan, prajurit Taliban mengawasi pembawa acara." tulisnya.
Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad also commented on the video circulating on Twitter. He posted the sentence that the Taliban had created fear in the minds of millions of people. “This is just another piece of evidence. I asked President Biden to watch and let us know if the militants posing behind the TV presenters were holding American guns.”
After mastering Afghanistan in mid-August, the Taliban made a number of promises including freedom of the press. Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid,
promised not to persecute journalists in Afghanistan.
“We will respect the freedom of the press, because media coverage will be useful for society and will be able to help correct the mistakes of the leaders,” Mujahid said as quoted by The News.
But on the ground the reality is different. A number of journalists, especially those working for foreign media, are wanted by the Taliban.
Read: America Is Gone, What Will Happen Next in Afghanistan?
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