KABUL - Amid an increase in threats against media workers in Afghanistan, journalists on Saturday called on the government to launch an investigation into recent attacks that killed several journalists in the country.
Journalists said that lack of attention to the investigation of attacks against media workers will pose severe harm to press freedom in the country.
Suhdaba Nasiri, a women’s rights activist and journalist, said the government should probe recent attacks on journalists in the country.
She said that working as a journalist in Afghanistan is associated with “threats and challenges” and that initially, her family was opposed to her job as a journalist. 
“Not only journalists but all Afghans are faced with threats,” she said.
Lawmakers said that “interference” in security agencies is a key factor that has overshadowed thorough investigation into targeted killings. 
“Hierarchical based on which a police officer reports to his commander and reporting process that a commander carries out to the deputies and the minister of interior. These things no longer exist there. A police officer now comes and reports to the First Vice President,” said MP Khalid Assad.
This comes as Deborah Lyons, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan on Thursday said that Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
“Six have lost their lives, this year alone – six journalists – with scant accountability for perpetrators. Eleven human rights defenders have also lost their lives, and many more have been injured or continue to be threatened,” she said. “Such attacks are completely unjustifiable. They risk chilling the public discourse, just when dialogue is most needed. So, I call upon the Government to take effective measures to protect the media, and to investigate and prosecute violent crimes against journalists.”
She said that the Taliban, too, must refrain from attacking civilian targets and that they must recognize the critical role that the media and civil society fulfills in a modern-day Afghanistan, as a vital member of global community. (TOLO NEWS)