KABUL, Afghanistan: The Taliban-run Afghan Ministry of Defence has ordered frontline forces to stop publishing reports, videos and interviews after footage from recent fighting in Nuristan appeared to undermine Kabul’s claims about the identity and origins of the fighters involved.
In a memo, the Directorate of Strategic Publications and Information of the Ministry of Defence said some of the fighters shown in the footage appeared to be Afghan residents, while their statements and appearance raised questions about claims that outsiders or Islamic State-Khorasan (ISKP) members had taken part in the fighting.
The instruction is contained in an internal memo issued by the ministry’s Directorate of Strategic Publications and Information. The document says frontline personnel had published footage and photographs that produced “serious doubts” about the account being presented by Taliban authorities.
Afghan Identities Revealed
The memo specifically refers to footage of individuals presented as members of an opposing group.
It says that during interviews, one person identified himself as a resident of Jaghori, a district in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, while another said he had travelled to a neighbouring country through the Islam Qala route.
The memo also notes that the individuals shown in the footage were unarmed, saying these details had themselves raised doubts among the public.
The references are significant because the Taliban authorities have sought to portray fighters involved in the recent clashes as outsiders or infiltrators who crossed into Afghanistan.
ISKP Claims Questioned
The document also refers to claims about the presence of Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) members among those captured or shown in the released footage.
However, the ministry memo says that no member of the ISKP group was visible among the individuals shown, raising questions over the media narrative and its credibility.
The wording indicates that the concern inside the Taliban’s information apparatus was not simply the publication of battlefield material, but the possibility that such material could undermine the official account being promoted by Kabul.
Publishing Restrictions
The ministry therefore asks the Directorate of Military Operations to ensure that the instructions are communicated to all military corps.
It specifically calls on frontline personnel to refrain from publishing reports, videos and their own interviews.
The memo says psychological warfare and media activities fall under the responsibilities of the Directorate of Strategic Publications and Information and refers to an earlier order by the defence minister governing such activities.
Narrative Disputed
The memo provides an apparent glimpse into the Taliban’s efforts to control battlefield information when material released by its own forces risks contradicting the official narrative.
Most notably, the document itself records Afghan locations identified by people appearing in the footage, while simultaneously discussing claims that the fighters were outsiders.
That apparent contradiction has raised questions over Kabul’s portrayal of the fighters and the circumstances surrounding the recent fighting.
