Media assets

Television: National Television Afghanistan

Radio: Radio Afghanistan

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

RTA is a state-owned institution, overseen by the RTA Commission—its principal governing body—whose members are appointed by the High Media Council. According to research conducted by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC), the Council historically included representatives from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, alongside figures from civil society and the media. Despite this pluralistic appearance, real control has consistently rested with the government. RTA is institutionally subordinate to the Ministry of Information and Culture, which exerts considerable influence over its operations.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the structure of RTA’s governance has been effectively dismantled and replaced by direct political control. In 2023, Yousef Ahmadi, formerly a Taliban spokesperson, was appointed as RTA’s Director General, consolidating the regime’s grip over the broadcaster.

Source of funding and budget

The latest available data from 2017 indicated that RTA operated on a government-allocated budget of AFN 404 million (approximately USD 5.9 million), supplemented by around AFN 220 million (USD 3.2 million) in advertising revenue. However, this funding was tightly controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and there have been no public updates on RTA’s financial standing since the Taliban takeover.

Since 2021, RTA has faced acute financial hardship due to both internal budgetary constraints and the broader economic isolation of the Taliban regime. Interviews conducted in 2023 with local journalists confirm that these fiscal pressures have severely hampered the broadcaster’s ability to function independently or sustainably.

Editorial independence

RTA’s editorial autonomy has historically been fragile and repeatedly undermined by government interference. During the republic era, a degree of professional independence was reintroduced under the leadership of Ismail Miakhail, a former BBC journalist whose tenure was seen as a modest step toward editorial integrity.

These gains, however, were swiftly erased after the Taliban seized power. Since then, RTA has become a mouthpiece for the regime. Reports from 2023 and 2024 describe systematic purges of staff, particularly women journalists, alongside instances of intimidation, physical abuse, and censorship. Moreover, the number of female journalists working at the station has dropped dramatically, reflecting broader gender-based restrictions imposed across the country. An estimate from early 2025 places active female journalists at just 600—down sharply from 2,833 in August 2021.

Taliban officials now maintain tight control over all programming, with content increasingly shaped by ideological and religious directives.

Although Afghanistan’s media law nominally enshrines protections for editorial independence, these legal safeguards have become functionally obsolete. There is currently no independent regulatory body or legal mechanism that can credibly enforce or assess RTA’s independence.

July 2025

Media Assets

Publishing: Hewad Daily, Shariat Daily, Anis Daily, The Kabul Times

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

The government press operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Information and Culture, which acts as both legal owner and principal regulator. According to Afghan journalists interviewed for this report in February 2023 and March 2024, the Ministry exercises full oversight of the newspapers’ operations, leaving little room for editorial autonomy.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the structure of media governance has undergone notable changes. The previous media administration was dissolved and replaced with a more centralized entity known as the Directorate of Government Dailies. This restructuring process resulted in the consolidation of certain titles and the launch of new pro-government publications, designed to align closely with the ideological goals of the Taliban regime.

Source of funding and budget

The government press is entirely financed by the state. Its operational budget covers printing, distribution, staffing, and other day-to-day expenses. However, in the wake of the Taliban takeover, severe fiscal constraints have impacted every aspect of its operations. Local sources confirm that funding has become erratic and insufficient, leading to delays in salary payments, irregular distribution, and scaling down of production in several provinces.

As of mid-2025, no transparent accounting of the government press budget has been made publicly available, and all financial oversight remains internal to the regime.

Editorial independence

The editorial line of Afghanistan’s government press is tightly controlled by the Ministry of Information and Culture, leaving no room for independent reporting or dissenting views. All content is pre-screened or directed by government-appointed editors, many of whom are closely aligned with Taliban leadership.

Following the reconstitution of the Directorate of Government Dailies, editorial oversight has intensified, with a heightened focus on ideological conformity, religious messaging, and the erasure of perspectives deemed un-Islamic or pro-Western. Reports from journalists inside the country collected in May 2025 suggest that coverage of women’s issues, international relations, and opposition voices has been almost entirely purged.

There is currently no legal framework or independent body tasked with protecting editorial independence in the print media sector. All attempts at introducing pluralistic governance or external oversight have been abandoned under Taliban rule.

July 2025

Media asset

News agency: Bakhtar News Agency

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

Bakhtar News Agency operates under the direct authority of the Ministry of Information and Culture, which supervises all aspects of the agency’s operations. According to Afghan media experts interviewed in June 2023, BNA’s management and editorial direction are fully aligned with government policy, with no institutional safeguards for editorial separation from political authority.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, BNA was absorbed into the regime’s consolidated media infrastructure. Its reporting has since been tightly aligned with the Taliban’s ideological and political messaging, and its leadership is now appointed by regime authorities without any form of public or institutional consultation.

Source of funding and budget

BNA is entirely funded by the state, with its operational budget provided by the Taliban-led government. According to interviews conducted in June 2023, the agency receives no independent revenue and relies exclusively on public funds, which are allocated and managed without transparency.

As of 2025, there is no published financial data concerning the agency’s annual budget or expenditures. Given that the Taliban has ceased releasing national budgets since seizing power, BNA’s financial standing remains opaque and embedded within broader regime funding.

Editorial independence

Bakhtar News Agency functions as a state propaganda outlet, with strict editorial oversight enforced by the Ministry of Information and Culture. All content is vetted to ensure consistency with official narratives, and coverage is heavily skewed toward reporting on Taliban leadership activities, government decrees, and religious messaging.

Since 2021, BNA’s role has expanded as other independent outlets have been shuttered, turning it into one of the only remaining government-distributed sources of news in Afghanistan. Editorial content avoids subjects deemed sensitive or controversial—such as women’s rights, political opposition, or criticism of the regime.

No domestic legislation exists that guarantees the editorial independence of the Bakhtar News Agency. Furthermore, no independent oversight body is in place to assess or monitor its operations. In practice, editorial autonomy is non-existent, and the agency functions as a centralized tool for the Taliban’s information control strategy.

July 2025