(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 24 January 2002 press release: Afghanistan Independent newspaper, Kabul Weekly, back on the streets The Afghan independent newspaper Kabul Weekly hit the streets of the capital on January 24, 2002, after an absence of more than five years. It is the first independent news weekly to be published in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 24 January 2002 press release:
Afghanistan
Independent newspaper, Kabul Weekly, back on the streets
The Afghan independent newspaper Kabul Weekly hit the streets of the capital on January 24, 2002, after an absence of more than five years. It is the first independent news weekly to be published in Kabul since the departure of the Taliban.
The weekly, which includes seven pages in Pashto and Dari and three pages in French and English, had an initial print run of 2,500 copies, and was priced at 2,000 Afghanis (the price of a loaf of bread). It was published with the permission of the Ministry of Information.
All copies were quickly snapped up throughout the Afghan capital, either given away or sold to residents keen on getting some independent news. The editor in chief, Faheem Dashty, told Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières – RSF) that the staff of ten journalists were extremely enthusiastic and determined to report the news without fail.
Faheem Dashty, who was seriously wounded in the suicide attack against Commander Shah Massoud, signed the first issue’s front page editorial, in which he presented the history and aims of the Kabul Weekly. He also wrote a first-person piece about the attack that killed Commander Massoud.
The Kabul Weekly’s Dari and Pashto pages carried a report on the presence of international forces in Kabul, articles on the country’s reconstruction, free speech, the situation of women, rumours in Kabul, the rebirth of theatre in the country, and finally the return of opium cultivation. This last article was the only one that ran without a by-line. The weekly also carried a literary column, some 20 photographs and two cartoons. The Kabul Weekly staff aim to sell advertising space to boost funds for the publication. For the moment, this first Afghan independent weekly, backed by the AINA organization, has being supported by UNESCO and Reporters Without Borders. The French government, National Geographic and other institutions have also pledged their support.
AINA is also preparing the first Afghan cartoon magazine, Zanbil-e-Gham (Basket of Sorrow), scheduled to appear in a few days, and also a women’s magazine.
