AS TURMOIL IN KABUL MOUNTS, TALIBAN TRY TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE MESSAGE

KABUL: In the last few days, TV crews from Afghanistan’s Al-Emarah Studio, which produces pro-Taliban multimedia content, have been out on the streets of Kabul speaking to residents with reassuring messages about life returning to normal.

The message is in sharp contrast to the chaos in parts of Kabul since the insurgents swept in last Sunday after a lightning conquest of Afghanistan.

It has presented one of the toughest tests yet for the movement’s communications strategy, which has grown into a sophisticated operation in recent years. The Al-Emarah interviews were a tiny step towards trying to win back control of the message. For the moment, Al-Emarah websites in five different languages have been difficult to access or apparently offline from Friday, for reasons which remain unclear. The clips could be seen on social media accounts, however.

While Facebook and YouTube have banned Taliban, it has an active presence on Twitter and dozens of social media accounts either directly linked to the movement or which stick close to its message have sprung up.

The Taliban have tried to reassure both Afghans and the international community but social media feeds of beatings or shaky video of people being dragged from cars and houses have challenged the Taliban’s narrative, sowing fear among a population still in shock from the sudden collapse of the government.

Many of the accounts of abuse cannot be verified, but Taliban officials acknowledge the widespread fears.

A senior official told Reuters that any problems caused by people in the movement would be investigated. In a tweet on Saturday, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban were setting up a three-member commission to handle problems encountered by the media.