KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) president Jamil Waqar says challenges in accessing information continue to persist in the country, calling on government officials to pay serious attention to the issue.

Addressing a coordination and consultative meeting with journalists in southeastern Khost province, Waqar noted that although access to information had improved over the past four years, the problem remained in some provinces.

He urged government authorities to pay full attention to resolving this matter.

“Media runs on information - it is like the fuel that powers the media machine. If we do not receive information through a proper mechanism, I believe we cannot run the media as effectively as required,” he remarked.

He added that since the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), 180 new media outlets had started operating in Afghanistan, but many others were facing severe economic challenges.

Waqar called on the government to support journalists and media outlets in the country and to draw the attention of international aid organisations and institutions to help address their economic difficulties.

“The IEA, as a governing system, should recognise its responsibility, support the media and encourage organisations such as the AJSC. Media outlets are operating under extremely difficult economic conditions - they must be encouraged to work more effectively and serve our values, whether Islamic or national,” he added.

He said if the government, media and supporting organisations work together and adopt a cooperative approach, all problems could be resolved.

He concluded by saying that his organisation was developing various training programmes aimed at enhancing journalists' professional capacity.

kk/ma

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