A photo from the Facebook page of Kabul Taxi, a running satire on Afghan life and politics. (Kabul Taxi)
KABUL – The Afghan government has a new enemy.
It’s not another faction of the Taliban emerging in yet another province. It’s not another warlord seeking to undermine central authority. It’s not a criminal group seeking to kidnap more foreigners or a new battalion of suicide bombers seeking to shatter the capital.
The latest threat is a Facebook page.
It’s called Kabul Taxi – and the government is determined to revoke its driving license.
In recent days, Afghanistan’s spy agency has been hunting for the writer of the satirical page, which pokes fun at virtually every powerful figure in the government. It has summoned at least six journalists for questioning, and is on the lookout for more, according to media watchdog groups.
The chase for the country’s most infamous “taxi driver” has become the talk of the capital’s diplomatic and political circles. It has also spawned outrage from journalists’ rights organizations, which are concerned that freedom of speech and the media could be at stake here.
Kabul Taxi's author, who told The Washington Post last month that he was a man, writes in the local Dari language about picking up powerful Afghan politicians and bureaucrats in his fictional taxi. In his back seat, his “fares” discusses politics, their rivalries and their ambitions. Through these conversations, Kabul Taxi scathingly tears into the nation’s rampant corruption, political dysfunction and the sinking economy.
[Afghans flock to Kabul Taxi, a satirical Facebook page that spares no one]
He has targeted President Ashraf Ghani as well as his partner in the power-sharing government, Abdullah Abdullah. He has also gone after former president Hamid Karzai. But recently Kabul Taxi decided to mock Hanif Atmar, Ghani’s influential national security adviser, about the large size of his staff and their responsibilities. They were all named in the Facebook posting.
That made Atmar an unhappy customer.
Within days, the National Directorate of Security or NDS, which essentially reports to Atmar, hauled in the journalists it suspected of being behind Kabul Taxi. They were all released. But the agency remains determined to shut its operator down.
In a statement, the National Security Council, which Atmar heads, declared that Kabul Taxi had “exposed” state secrets by naming members of the council’s staff, “which is against Afghanistan’s law and will cause serious security threats.”
In the same statement, the council also said that “freedom of speech and the operation of the media is a big achievement of the people and government of Afghanistan,” and that it was committed to guarding freedom of expression.
Journalist watchdog groups, though, are not convinced. The Afghan National Journalists Union noted that the names of the NSC staff were published on the council’s own Facebook Page, along with their photos.
On Thursday, Reporters Without Borders condemned the interrogation of the journalists by the NDC, which the media watchdog said took place in the presence of a “senior National Security Council representative during the past week.” Those questioned, the group said, included Zaki Daryabi, editor of the daily Etilaatroz, and Javad Naji, a journalist well-known on social media networks.
Afghanistan ranked 122th out of 180 countries in the group’s 2015 press freedom index.
"The attempt by the NSC and in particular by Mr. Hanif Atmar -- national security adviser -- should be prevented,” Mujib Khelwatgar, the head of Nai, a U.S.-funded media development institute and watchdog, told the local Tolo News network. “Otherwise, the past 14 years' achievements in freedom of speech in Afghanistan will be deterred.”
The attempt to shut down Kabul Taxi has only made the Facebook page more popular. Since the NSC crackdown, the number of fans who have “liked” the page has doubled to 53,000.
And many fans are angry at the government, saying it should focus its energy on tackling the country’s myriad problems -- not take down a page that many feel reflects the collective angst of the country.
“Curse this Security Council that we have,” wrote one fan. “Instead of chasing the driver of this taxi, they should chase truck suicide bombers that massacre people.”
“Be careful Driver,” wrote another fan. “If you continue the way you drive now, they will block the roads of democracy to you.”
Read more:
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