Renewed focus on Afghan journalists’ safety
May 14, 2012 Leave a comment
By Susanna Inkinen
On the air with Good Morning Afghanistan, a popular national morning show broadcast since 2002 focused on promoting democracy and freedom of speech. (Lars Schmidt/IMS)
More than a decade into the war in Afghanistan, local journalists remain caught in crossfire between the country’s fighting parties
Unarmed, and waiving his press card, Omaid Khpulwak was killed outside his workplace – a radio and television broadcast facility – when it came under a Taliban suicide attack and US counter-attack.
The government of Afghanistan insisted Khpulwak had been killed by the Taliban suicide bombers, but the bullet wounds found on his body indicated otherwise.
A new report by the independent research organisation Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) detailing the 2011-killing of journalist Omaid Khpulwak puts renewed focus on the safety of Afghanistan’s media professionals.
