What happened? In the latest case of crackdown against Afghan influencers on social media, the Taliban intelligence operatives have detained, Youtuber, Abdul Fatah Azizi and two of his colleagues.
Go Deeper:
- The three members of Badakhshan Plus YouTube channel had been detained by the Taliban intelligence agency in February 24 in Faizabad, the capital city of northern Badakhshan province.
- According to local sources, Azizi and his colleagues have been detained due to coverage of Kyrgyz citizens in Afghanistan in the remote area of Wakhan in Badakhshan province.
- According to some sources, the Taliban have detained the members of Badakhshan Plus YouTube channel for interviewing and filming Kyrgyz women for their channel.
- The Taliban have beaten Azizi and his colleagues during their detention.
Between the lines: Badakhshan Plus is a YouTube channel that has been focused on life and culture of locals in Badakhshan province.
- The channel has 32,800 subscribers and in 2022 had female presenters too.
- The channel’s total viewership has been over 3.6 million views.
- The channel has covered local issues including food, cultural programmes, regions, and has presented a clear picture of Badakhshan province under the reign of the Taliban.
Zoom out: The Kyrgyz of Afghanistan have been a deprived and poor community, who live in the Pamir region, which is divided into two parts. They usually reside in the Wakhan district of Badakhshan Province, in the northeast of Afghanistan.
- Earlier, Kyrgyzstan had announced the country’s intention to transfer 400 Kyrgyz families from the Pamir region of Afghanistan to Kyrgyzstan.
- Minister of Labour, Social Security and Migration of Kyrgyzstan, has said that the total number of these families reaches 1,500 people and they will leave Afghanistan by 2024.
