ISLAMABAD: Taliban intelligence forces raided the offices of Afghanistan’s largest private media group on Sunday after its news outlet reported that two of its journalists had been detained, Afghanistan International reported, citing sources.

Around 50 armed intelligence personnel surrounded the headquarters of Moby Group and its news channel TOLOnews in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood for more than six hours, the news website reported.

The operation reportedly began roughly 40 minutes after TOLOnews posted on social media at about 1pm local time that two of its journalists had been detained by Taliban intelligence agents.

The journalists were identified as Mansoor Niazi, a presenter and host of political programs, and Imran Danish, head of the network’s political section. Niazi was reportedly detained on Thursday in Kabul’s Karte Seh area, while Danish was taken into custody Saturday evening near the TOLOnews office.

The report said Taliban intelligence agents confiscated the mobile phones of employees working for TOLOnews and other Moby Group outlets, including TOLO TV, Lemar TV, Arman FM and Arakozia FM. Employees were placed under surveillance throughout the operation.

Several staff members were reportedly assaulted, and female employees were subjected to harsh treatment, the report said, citing sources. Women were allowed to leave around 7pm, while male staff remained under supervision for about another an hour.

Danish was brought to the office during the raid and later taken away again after searches and inspections were completed.

Neither Moby Group nor Taliban officials have publicly commented on the reasons for the raid.

TOLOnews resumed posting on social media at around 8pm after an unusual nine-hour period of inactivity.

In one apparent sign of coercion, the media report, citing sources maintained that Taliban intelligence agents took control of Niazi’s account on X. A message posted Sunday morning said reports about his detention were false and that he was at home.

The incident came days after Taliban intelligence detained Ahmad Jawed Niazi, head of Paigard News Agency. His whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization confirmed the detention of the TOLOnews journalists and said no private media outlet in Afghanistan is safe from arbitrary harassment and detention.

Recently, Faridullah Mohammadi, director of TOLOnews, said at a meeting in the Taliban presidential palace that the “relative freedom” of the media in Afghanistan was unprecedented in the region.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have detained, threatened and imprisoned dozens of journalists, prompting repeated warnings from media rights groups over the deteriorating state of press freedom in Afghanistan.

At least five journalists have remained in Taliban custody over the past year, according to media reports. They include Hamid Farhadi, Aziz Watanwal, Shakib Ahmad Nazari, Mohammad Bashir Hatef and Abuzar Sarem Sarpoli.

Afghanistan International reported that at least two detained journalists have been transferred to Bagram Prison.

TOLOnews

Taliban besiege TOLOnews offices following detention of journalists