Have championed ladies’s rights for twenty years, received’t hand over: TOLO News head

In an unique interview with India Today TV, TOLO News Chairman Saad Mohseni talked concerning the scenario in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s media gag, free speech, and different essential points.

When requested concerning the present floor scenario in Afghanistan, Saad Mohseni stated Afghanistan is not only going through a political disaster however a humanitarian disaster and an financial disaster as properly.”Taliban is trying to consolidate its maintain over the nation. And additionally they need to win over politicians, together with Opposition politicians like Hamid Karzai and others who’re exterior like Abdullah Abdullah. Given what is going on on at Kabul airport, the Taliban have realised that there’s a sense of panic, they usually have to deal with folks’s considerations.”“Last but not the least, they have to win the support of the international community because Afghanistan is not just facing a political crisis but a humanitarian crisis as well as an economic crisis, he said.Saad Mohseni, the owner of TOLO News, Afghanistan’s first independent news channel, told India Today TV that it’s a funny situation because the Taliban has not quite taken over the government.”They don’t have ministers or president. They have some caretakers across the country but nothing like a proper government, so we have to wait. They keep saying that they will allow organisations like ours to work but only time can tell,” he said.He said that there has been no informal directive by the Taliban regarding what media can cover or not.”They have come in and spoken to us only to reassure us that business is usually good enough for them. Surely it is expected, and any government will have media laws. Even in this situation, we have laws that dictate how media will operate. And I think the Taliban will have their own way of dealing with the media. You just have to wait for them to come in before we see those directives,” he said.ALSO READ | How Panjshir Valley is still standing tall among Afghan ruins fighting Taliban | DecodedTOLO News has pulled out music shows and soap operas which were controversial because of the current situation in the country.”It was just an internal decision when we realised what the new environment will be like. Otherwise, a lot of our programmes are pretty much what they were. News is 100 per cent like before,” the chairman said.Saad Mohseni also confirmed that CIA Director William Burns met the Taliban leader last night.”The CIA chief was apparently in Kabul last night and met Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar. There is a lot going on and a lot of questions as well. What will happen to the airport after August 31? What will the new government look like? Much to worry about in the coming weeks,” he said.The desperation of Afghans and foreign nationals to escape the Taliban’s clutches has led to tragic scenes at the airport, with seven people killed in a crush at the gates.ALSO READ | Taliban abducting women, elderly to use them as shield to conduct house searches: Former V-P SalehUS President Joe Biden is also expected to decide soon whether to extend the August 31 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.When asked about the Kabul airport chaos, the TOLO News chairman said thousands of people are waiting to get out and many of them would not be able to do so as they don’t have the documentation.”It will be a real scramble as the day nears. The concern we have is that the scenes on September 1 or 2 are going to be far worse than what we have seen till now,” he added.With the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, people in the country, women are particularly fearful for their lives and rights.On women anchors being taken off air from state-run channels, he said, “No, no we would like to continue having women on our screens. And also, during general reporting on the streets or going and interviewing officials, including Taliban officials. We have championed women’s rights for two decades and we are not going to give up on that so easily.”LONG READ | The rise, fall and rise of Taliban: An Afghan StorySaad Mohseni said it’s very difficult to confirm incidents of violence against women.”Intimidation of individuals is something which happens in every country. The question is that is it more than what it was two weeks ago? I am sure there are incidents; the UN has reported these cases. The question should be: is it institutionally sanctioned actions by members of Taliban and that is difficult to ascertain?” he said.Regarding the Taliban’s claim of forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan, Saad Mohseni stated they do appear to be totally different than earlier than.”We have to guage them on what we see in the present day, they usually appear to be totally different. It can be fascinating to see what their cabinet appears to be like like. Will they develop into extra restrictive as soon as they kind the federal government? The nation features on what the legislation has been for the final 20 years. We have to attend and see,” he added.ALSO READ | Taliban take control of Afghanistan: How it happened and what’s next for the Afghan peopleTOLO News Chairman Saad Mohseni said they will continue to work like before as they have a moral obligation to the country.”Continuing our work is our precedence. We have an obligation as a enterprise, however we even have an ethical obligation to the nation. Media shops are thought of as beacons of hope for the nation, and we’re taking this function significantly,” he said.He added that they have hired a lot of people, including two women, as many of their employees have left the country.”We anticipate one-third of our staff to depart or have left already. There is a scramble to rent new folks. We employed lots of people within the final week or so. It’s unhappy however we’ve no different possibility than to recruit new folks,” he added.ALSO READ: Taliban burnt down my home: Afghan girl thanks India for evacuating household