Afghan TV Back on Air


Afghan TV Back on Air

KABUL, Nov 18: Kabul Television has gone back on air after a break of five-year silence ordered by the Taliban. At the Afghan capital's television station, engineers fiddled with cables, circuit boards and decrepit equipment in preparation for a three-hour live broadcast scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Kabul's television station was severely damaged by fighting and has been empty since 1996. Afghan technicians have put an old antenna on the roof of Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, next to state-of-the-art equipment set up by foreign television networks broadcasting worldwide. Nearby is a small radio satellite dish, riddled with bullet holes, which has also resumed broadcasting.

Residents of central Kabul could watch a program of music, interviews and news in the Dari and Pashto languages. "We have different programs scheduled for tonight," said Kabul TV's Director Humayon Rawi. "Everyone wanted to start working in TV again. For three days we've been trying to make it work. Now we are so happy," he said. His co-presenter, a 16-year-old woman called Mariam Shakebar, appeared wearing a brown and cream headscarf. Ms. Shakebar was a children's TV presenter when the Taleban came to power and immediately lost her job. The station's presenters also included female news anchor Lida Azimi, who returned to work after five years of unemployment. "I feel so happy," said Azimi, wearing a white headscarf and glasses. "Life is now enjoyable for me. When the Taliban were in Afghanistan I was at home all the time, and I didn't work at all."

A few wealthy residents took the risk of watching foreign television channels via satellite dishes, but most people hid their television sets in cupboards. [AFP/Reuters]