A surreal and terrifying newsclip has emerged from Afghanistan showing a TV news reporter reading out the news while surrounded by armed Taliban fighters.
The short clip was tweeted by Yalda Hakim, a BBC journalist.
She said:
"Afghanistan TV - surreal. This is what a political debate now looks like on Afghan TV, Taliban foot soldiers watching over the host. The presenter talks about the collapse of the Ghani govt & says the Islamic Emirate says the Afghan people should not to be afraid #Afghanistan."
It had been reported that Taliban fighters had stormed the news channel and that they had demanded that the news reader praise their takeover of the country.
In the video, the news reporter states that the Taliban takeover should be praised and that a return of the Taliban regime would be good for the people of Afghanistan.
The 42-second clip has been viewed over 1 million times.
Afghanistan TV - surreal
— Yalda Hakim (@BBCYaldaHakim) August 29, 2021
This is what a political debate now looks like on Afghan TV, Taliban foot soldiers watching over the host. The presenter talks about the collapse of the Ghani govt & says the Islamic Emirate says the Afghan people should not to be afraid #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/oEverVgLOE
Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad also retweeted the video, saying:
"Taliban militants are posing behind this visibly petrified TV host with guns and making him to say that people of #Afghanistan shouldn't be scared of the Islamic Emirate. Taliban itself is synonymous with fear in the minds of millions. This is just another proof."
The ultra-Islamic Taliban regime has taken over Afghanistan in the last few weeks following the departure of US and NATO troops, with whom they fought a 20-year war.
The Taliban previously controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. During this time, they imposed strict authoritarian rule and executed opponents. They also banned women and girls from being educated and banned music. Ironically, the Taliban also banned television.
During the last 20 years, television use has become more widespread in Afghanistan with many people getting their news and entertainment from thriving domestic television and entertainment channels. These will now all likely be strictly controlled or banned outright by the Taliban.
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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