Kabul: May 06, 2012
Abdul Wahed Hakimi, the head and reporter of Iranian Fars News Agency in Kabul was arrested by the Afghan National Department of Security (NDS) on accusation of “revealing the confidential government documents to Iran”.
One source in the Afghan NDS admitted having the reporter in detention, but avoided giving more details.
Fars News Agency has also confirmed that Mr. Abdul Wahid Hakimi, who left his office and was headed to Afghan National Museum for reporting purposes, has been arrested by the Afghan Security Forces and taken to unknown location.
Quoting Mr. Hakimi’s wife, Fars News Agency has written that “on Saturday evening, in a brief and controlled phone call” he told his family that he had been arrested by the Afghan National Department of Security.
Fars News Agency, said to be having close ties with Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has an office in Kabul and reports about various Afghan events.
Last month, Afghan NDS spokesman, Lutfullah Mashal in “media solidarity for ensuring prosperity of the country” gathering has said that Fars News Agency and the Iranian Press TV-English had opened offices and were operating in Afghanistan without legal license from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture.
Some Afghan media were also accused of working for Iran and Pakistan’s interest, by Mr. Mashal.
But Fars News Agency has said that the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Afghan NDS last February, in which it had temporarily banned the operation of this agency until the issuing the proper legal license, and this detention is probably “because of the miscommunication and lack of information of some Afghan security agencies about the Afghan Foreign Ministry’s issuing legal license.”