Afghan TV Anchor relays Taliban's message surrounded by armed fighters; Watch

In a shocking incident, armed Taliban fighters stormed into an Afghan news station on Sunday and held the TV anchor hostage on camera. The incident occurred during a live debate on TV. At least eight Taliban militants barged into the Afghan TV network Peace Studio and stood behind the anchor as he was conducting his regular show 'Pardaz'. The Taliban militants reportedly asked the anchor to interview them and continued to stand behind him in the studio as he conducted his show.

With the Taliban militants breathing down at his neck, the TV anchor addressed the news bulletin, talking about the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani-led government and the formation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Visibly afraid and uncomfortable, the presenter then went on to tell the nation to not be scared of the Taliban. The video of the incident has gone viral on social media and has raised serious questions on the freedom of the press in Afghanistan.

Afghan journalists flee Kabul

As the Taliban continue to crackdown on human rights, several journalists and activists have been forced to flee the nation. Last week, the Taliban barred two women journalists Khadija Amin and Shabnam Dawran who worked with the public broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan. The group also attacked two other members of the press for covering the anti-Taliban protests taking place in the eastern Nangarhar province.

A few days ago, a known female anchor at TOLO News, Beheshta Arghand left Afghanistan after her ground-breaking interview with a senior Taliban representative on the air. Opening up on her decision, she stated that almost all well-known reporters and journalists have left the war-torn nation in fear. Another Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary has also reportedly escaped to Doha. Slamming western countries for their evacuation process, the journalist called the evacuations a "failure" as they were happening in the "eleventh hour."

(With Agency Inputs)

(Image: @AlinejadMasih/Twitter)