By Zabihullah Tamanna
KABUL, Afghanistan
Three violent incidents against journalists in Afghanistan in a single day have led to calls for improved security to protect newsgatherers in the country.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s National Journalist’s Union said: “Recent repeated incidents show increasing threats against journalists. One of our colleagues working with local TV was injured following a suicide attack on Tuesday, another female journalist was murdered mysteriously in the same day in northern Balkh province and a local radio [station] was attacked by hand grenade in the evening.”
According to the union, the number of incidents threatening journalists’ safety has been higher in recent months than any time since the collapse of the Taliban in 2001.
The statement described the situation as “tense and alarming” and demanded further steps from security forces to ensure journalists’ safety.
On Tuesday Palwasha Tokhi Miranzai was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and back after answering her door in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province.
Police chief General Abdul Rahaman Rahimi said the motive for the killing remained unclear.
Miranzai worked for Bayan Radio, a local radio supported by the International Security Assistance Force.
In a separate incident on Tuesday evening, a local radio station in Herat, western Afghanistan, was attacked by hand grenade.
Police chief Abdul Baqi Behsodi, said the attack on Radio Mardom caused no causalities.
Faisal Karimi, chief editor at the station, which has been operating for three years, said: “We strictly request government to investigate the case and increase the security for media institutions.”
Earlier in the day, an Afghan journalist working for a local TV station was wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a NATO convoy in Kabul.
According to the Afghanistan Journalists’ Center’s annual report, 84 cases of violence against journalists were registered in 2013 across the country.
Cases included murder, injuries, death threats and the closure of media outlets.
Journalists in Afghanistan work under extremely difficult circumstances and routinely face violence, threats and intimidation.
While many incidents go unreported, at least 33 journalists, including foreigners, have lost their lives since 2001.
In July, Khalid Agha Yaqubi, a local radio producer and presenter, was shot dead in front of his family in Lahza, Balkh province. The gunmen have yet to be detained.
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