BBC Monitoring

Text of report by state-owned National Afghanistan Radio on 6 January

[Presenter] The information and culture minister has called on the officials of private television channels to avoid airing corrupt programmes and serials which run counter to the Islamic culture.

Abdol Karim Khorram, the information and culture minister, had a meeting with the officials of private television channels today. He termed the broadcast of a number of foreign serials, in particular the Indian ones by some television channels as being against the Islamic culture. He said that the broadcast of these serials would lead the youth astray and would promote idolatry in the country.

The information and culture minister said that a large number of families had complained to him personally about the broadcast of these serials which lead the youth astray.

He appreciated the television channels which carry out activities in the field of education, culture, arts and religion and promote the Islamic and Afghan culture. He said that they should not u! ndermine all their positive activities by airing one or two corrupt programmes.

The Council of Ministers and the Council of Religious Scholars, through their resolutions, tasked the Ministry of Information and Culture to take action in preventing the broadcast of corrupt and immoral programmes by some television channels.

The officials of the television channels expressed different views on the subject. A number of officials of the television channels described the serials as the best source for financing their channels, but a number of others described the broadcast of some foreign serials as being against the Islamic culture in the country and demanded their stoppage.

The evaluation of the source of income of the media outlets was also discussed at the meeting in the light of the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Source: Radio Afghanistan, Kabul, in Dari 1530 gmt 6 Jan 08