Search

Throughout the Soviet occupation and the Taliban era, various Afghan political and social welfare groups based their operations in Peshawar, Pakistan. From Zahir Shah-loyalists to women’s aid organizations, a number of them published magazines and newspapers for Afghan refugees, as well as their countrymen at home.

After the events of September 11, 2001, American-led coalition forces invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Taliban, making way for the presidency of Hamid Karzai. In the decade since his initial appointment, the government has progressively restored civil rights that were restricted under the Taliban, including freedom of the press. In addition to pro-government newspapers and magazines, a variety of critical voices can be found among the emerging print media outlets of the Karzai era.

Islamists in Afghanistan began to resist PDPA social reforms long before the Soviet invasion. But when Moscow sent troops to Kabul to prop up the failing communist government in 1979, their resistance swiftly escalated into full-scale insurgency. Well-funded, often foreign-backed jihadists hounded Soviet forces throughout the country, leading Mikhail Gorbachev to order their withdrawal in 1989. Various Mujaheddin factions continued the struggle against Mohammad Najibullah's tottering regime until it fell in 1992, when they turned their weapons against one another. Throughout the conflict, many of the parties (including Jamiat-i Islami, Hezb-e Islami, and others) published newspapers and magazines to record their accomplishments and seek greater legitimacy. Foreign governments, including Iran, contributed pro-Mujaheddin literature, as did pan-Arab Islamist organizations, which published their own magazines to encourage jihad and solicit donations at home and abroad.

Arising in response to the brutality and lawlessness of the Afghan civil war, the Taliban consolidated forces under the leadership of Mullah Omar in Kandahar circa 1994. Extolling strict adherence to the Koran as the key to social order, the group successfully fought the remaining Mujaheddin factions for control of the country in 1996. Until they were toppled by American forces in December 2001, the Taliban regularly issued newspapers and magazines that chronicled their military and political ascent, promoted Islamic virtue, and reinforced Sharia law.

Before and after Daoud Khan's 1973 coup, various leftist revolutionaries and reformists sought a presence in the nation's political consciousness. From Babrak Karmal's Parcham ("Flag”) party and its eponymous newspaper to Akhbar Hafta, a popular weekly magazine published during the final days of Najibullah's regime, print newspapers and magazines helped Afghan leftists communicate their ideas to literate audiences in urban centers.