Concerns over press freedom in Afghanistan are growing after the Taliban pledged to impose a law banning media outlets from publishing images of all living things.

State media in Kandahar, Takhar and Maidan Wardak provinces have been advised “not to broadcast or show images of anything with a soul – that is, people and animals” , Arab News said, months after warnings that the Taliban’s harsh moral standards were creating a climate of fear.

Climate of fear