By Hayatullah Gahiz
The year has started badly for press freedom. The independent media watchdog, NAI, has warned attacks on journalists have risen in 2013. As many as 31 cases were reported since the beginning of the year compared to only 12 cases in all of 2012. The attackers in the majority of cases were "governmental authorities", Abdul Mujib Khelwatgar, the executive director of NAI, told the press in Herat.
In one case in Kabul the Taleban were responsible.Journalists have been physically attacked, threatened with violence and summoned by courts and security agencies in an attempt to intimidate. Fear of violence is cramping efforts by the press to report fearlessly and fairly, media experts say.
The Journalists' Union of Afghanistan says the press is abused not only by the government, NATO, anti-government elements but also by the politically powerful.
The Journalists' Union of Afghanistan says the press is abused not only by the government, NATO, anti-government elements but also by the politically powerful.
Mohiuddin Noori, the Herat governor's spokesman, said the government has always sought to assist the media. The provincial security commander said the Ministry of Interior Affairs has given priority to media security.
Herat Journalists' Union head Khalil Amiri said journalists are "menaced" by high government officials and the government's opponents. It has made the work of the media even harder, he observed. - By Qala Nawi
Nangarhar hiatus
A truce brokered by Asadullah Wafa, the president's negotiator, between the warring Sepai and Ali Sherkhel tribes in Achin district may be unwinding.
Wafa solved a tussle over ownership of 20,000 jeribs of public land, which had led to a series of armed clashes over three years, by calling a jirga that included tribal leaders, religious authorities and people's representatives.
The assembly decided the disputed land would be shared as pasture land by the two tribes, or used for public projects like a school or clinic.
The two tribes were also told to donate 10 jeribs of land to ever family that lost a member in the conflict, and 5 jeribs each to the injured. (1 sq metre is equal to 0.0005 jerib).
A fine of 20 million Afs (roughly 370,000 USD) would be imposed on either side for breaches in the agreement.
But the two sides are again trading charges. Leaders say the decision is neither according to the Shariah nor tribal principles.