MAZAR - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) trained journalists in the country’s northern Balkh province today to prepare them for reporting next year’s presidential polls “accurately and objectively”.

UNAMA’s Dari Web Editor Mir Mohammad Sediq trained 12 journalists on different angles of accurately reporting on election issues with practical exercises.

“The programme aimed to improve local media reporters’ capacity to better manifest relevant facts and timely information on the step-by-step processes related to elections,” said Mr. Sediq after the training.

The training, organized in the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif, covered topics such as key election issues for journalists, news writing style and reporting sensitivities, said Mr. Sediq.

Despite multiple obstacles Afghanistan has made significant progress in the field of communications during the past decade. According to the Ministry of Information and Culture, over 160 radio stations and 60 television channels are currently operating in the country.

Afghanistan also registered significant progress in defending rights of journalists and promoting freedom of the press in 2012. In its World Press Freedom Index 2013 released on 30 January, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based media rights watchdog, ranked Afghanistan 128th in its global index of 179 countries, 22 places up from 150 in 2011.

While applauding the training in Mazar-i-Sharif, a journalist, Jamaluddin Arezu, said, “The growth of press freedom has been tremendous but Afghan journalists’ community is still young and needs improvements.”

By UNAMA Mazar