Trailblazing woman journalist who interviewed Taliban representative leaves Afghanistan

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, August 30

The trailblazing woman journalist from Tolo News who interviewed a Taliban representative on air after the Islamists wrested power from the western-backed Afghan government has left Afghanistan, CNN reported.

Beheshta Arghand did what many would not dream of in the face of grave peril—not only did she, a female anchor, interview a Taliban representative, but she also interviewed Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel peace laureate who survived a Taliban assassination attempt in Pakistan. But as dangers continue to lurk in Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s promises to allow women to work “within the framework of the Islamic laws” and also of press freedom within Afghanistan’s “cultural framework”—neither of those statements has been explained fully yet—Arghand, like thousands of her fellow countrymen, decided to it was time to leave.

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“I left the country because, like millions of people, I fear the Taliban,” CNN quoted her as saying.

CNN quoted Saad Mohseni, the owner of TOLO News, as saying that Arghand’s position was emblematic of the situation in Afghanistan.

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“Almost all of our well-known reporters and journalists have left,” CNN quoted Mohseni as having said. “We have been working like crazy to replace them with new people.”

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Arghand boarded a Qatari Air Force evacuation flight with several of her family on Tuesday the report said.

She, like several of her countrymen, remains sceptical of the Taliban’s promises. Still, she hopes to return someday, CNN said.

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“If the Taliban do what they say—what they promised—and the situation becomes better, and I know I am safe and there is no threat for me, I will go back to my country and I will work for my country. My people.”

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