Taliban Documents Reveal AFN 70.7M Budget for Media Propaganda
DID Press: A document attributed to the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence indicates that the agency allocated 70.7 million Afghanis for a media and propaganda campaign involving a number of domestic and foreign-based media outlets and channels.
According to a table included in the document, 30 million Afghanis was allocated in the first category to implement a media program. Media outlets including Yad, Mosalas, Hejaz Farsi, Hindukush Voice, Al-Mersad, Afaq, Naqab, Green Media, Radio Hurriyat, TOLO, Yek, Shamshad, Ariana and Silver Screen Channel are listed as implementers.
In the second category, 20 million Afghanis was allocated for media programs, with Khorram Management and the channels Yad, Mosalas, Naqab, Silver Screen, Watandar Plus, Afaq and Radio Hurriyat listed among the implementers.
The third category received another 20 million Afghanis, with Al-Mersad, Khorasan Ghag, Nedaye Baloch and Nahzat Media listed. The fourth category was allocated 500,000 Afghanis, while 200,000 Afghanis was designated for the fifth category, with the duties and activities assigned to each category specified in the document.
Based on the figures in the table, the total budget for the plan amounts to 70.7 million Afghanis. According to the document, the funds were allocated for media and propaganda activities by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence.
The disclosure comes as the Taliban have imposed broad restrictions on media activities. Based on the contents of the document, the allocation indicates an effort by the group to use media in an organized manner to advance its political and propaganda objectives.
Anti-Pakistan Focus of the Media Plan
Another section of documents attributed to the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence concerns the preparation and publication of reports and articles about Pakistan. The topics include disputes within Pakistan’s military leadership, dissatisfaction with Army Chief Asim Munir, and the activities of groups opposed to Islamabad.
According to the documents, reporting on the relationship between opposition groups and Pakistan, particularly the National Resistance Front and Islamabad’s alleged support for these groups, was among the focus areas of the media plan.
Pakistan’s economic situation, public dissatisfaction and divisions within the country’s military leadership, including alleged dissatisfaction among some generals with Asim Munir, were also listed among the topics.
Another part of the plan calls for reports on the activities of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Front, their presence in Pakistan, and the way the country’s military and security forces deal with these groups.
The documents also refer to media support for groups opposed to Pakistan’s military establishment and the preparation of reports about what they describe as “Pakistan’s crimes against Pashtuns and Baloch.”
The document’s disclosure comes as the Taliban maintain a restrictive approach toward media outlets. According to the contents of the document, the allocation of millions of Afghanis for media activities indicates that the group is simultaneously using media as a tool to advance broader political and propaganda objectives.