by Abdulhadi Hairan

Created on: September 07, 2007

Media is on track to progress in Afghanistan

As the new model corolla car was flying on the Torkham-Jalalabad highway and passing through the rough mountains that suffered badly from hands of Russians to Mujahideen and Taliban to Americans, I was heeding to listen Nangrahar Radio.

The three passengers in the back seat were discussing the new government and were hoping it should start an immediate construction of the road.

The arguments among the three passengers badly disturbed me but I was still trying to listen to the programme with full attention.

It was a programme concerning social issues. The guests at the radio programme were presenting their point of view intelligently but the presenter was spoiling it.

Noticing my attention in the programme, the driver said, "I like to listen Pakistani radios, especially the programmes airing live telephone calls".

I read his mind. This programme should have live calls but he did not know why it had not any.

I knew it. The presenter was so unprofessional and inexperienced that she had ruined the recorded programme, then how can she handle live programmes?

It was 2002. I listened the same radio again last month. This time, the presenter was doing his job in a great manner. The programmes were good and totally different.

You can call Afghanistan a country full of news. A conflict is still going on here for more than 25 years. This war has its own effects on the people and the most affected segment is the young generation.

It started in 1973 when former Prime Minister Mohammad Daud Khan staged a coup d'tat while king Mohammad Zahir Shah was in Italy undergoing eye surgery.

With the fall of Zahir Shah regime, there was only 50 kilometers asphalted road existed in entire Afghanistan while financial crisis had gripped country's economy but still a system was working and common people were thinking it okay.

There was a restricted media fully controlled by the government.

Mohammad Daud Khan introduced presidential form of government and called a republic government but there was not any independent media organization within the country.

It was until the American-backed jihad started against Russian invasion and pro-communist Afghan government.

The mujahedeen established their own media organizations in neighboring countries propagating their activities. Western media like BBC and Voice of America launched special programmes for Afghanistan in Pashto and Dari and attracted people's attention, as every Afghan was keen to about the happenings

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