CableTV banned in Kabul- erm, Kabul has cable?!?!

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-01-22 03:53am

Cable television services in the Afghan capital, Kabul, have been temporarily closed following a ruling by the country's chief justice.
Fazel Hadi Shinwari closed cable TV in one district of Kabul and rejected an appeal against a recent ban in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

We are Afghans, we are Muslims, we have Islamic laws and values in our country

Chief Justice Fazel Hadi Shinwari

The Kabul authorities then suspended all cable TV until Saturday pending a government decision.

The country's top legal figure has also spoken out against the co-education of boys and girls.

Complaints

Mr Shinwari said he had issued the order against cable TV after dozens of complaints about un-Islamic programmes.

''People who filed complaints to the Supreme Court said they were airing half-naked singers and obscene scenes from movies,'' he said.

''We are Afghans, we are Muslims, we have Islamic laws and values in our country.''

Mr Shinwari added: ''As a responsible official I cannot allow cable TV in any part of Afghanistan.''

It is not clear which other areas of the country have been affected by the ruling.

On the separate issue of co-education, the chief justice told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press that teaching adolescent boys and girls together was not allowed.

He said it was forbidden under Islamic law.

He made the comments when asked about moves by Ismail Khan, the powerful governor of Herat province, to restrict education for girls.

'Contradiction'

Kabul cable TV firms had proved popular following the Taleban rule, showing a dozen channels, mainly Western and Indian music and movies.

Indian films were part of the cable programming

The court had banned the sole cable operator in Jalalabad in mid-December, condemning the broadcast of foreign films as ''totally against Islam and Afghan culture''.

Mohammad Humayun, director of Jalalabad's Afghan Cable Centre, had sought a lifting of the ban.

Mr Humayun's channels included CNN, the BBC, the Qatar-based Arabic-language network al-Jazeera and dance and movie channels.

Kabul cable owners said they had started operations on licences received from the new interim government.

One said: ''There seems to be a contradiction here. They knew what sort of programmes we were running when we got the licence.''

Another described it as part of a struggle between the Islamists and pro-Western elements in the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Television was completely banned by the former Taleban rulers, as were many other forms of entertainment.

I just thought it was amusing.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-01-22 06:50am

Just goes to show, you can kick the Taliban out (more or less), but you can't kick out the stupid.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-01-22 10:04am

Am I the only one to have noticed that "Kabul" and "Cable" sound similar??

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-01-22 11:55am

LOL. Too bad for all those American jackasses who insist that everything changed in Afghanistan when members of the Taliban were bribed to switch sides....

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-22 03:11pm

"In other news the five affect people where soon invited to watch satellite TV at the USAF base at Bagram"

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-01-22 05:54pm

We got the Taliban out, but the Islamic fundies remain.

I'm sure after some anal sex, they won't be so uptight.