The Hasht-e Subh Daily has acquired information indicating that, in the early days of the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan, Taliban fighters looted equipment and facilities belonging to Meshrano Jirga TV, the former House of Elders’ television station. Sources report that, following warnings from Taliban fighters of the Kandahar faction to vacate the office, those affiliated with the Haqqani Network removed all technical equipment and office supplies, valued at millions of Afghanis. Former officials of Meshrano Jirga TV confirm these reports, stating that the television station’s building has now been repurposed into a dormitory and madrasa for militants associated with the acting minister of the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense.
They further reveal that Meshrano Jirga TV, established at a cost of approximately USD 100,000, employed 57 staff members in departments such as broadcasting, reporting, technical, and administrative. The television station had 12 official employees and 45 contractual staff. During this period, one of the employees with whom the looted accessories and office supplies were registered, committed suicide in November 2021 due to mental pressure. The looted items from the station by Taliban fighters include cameras, cranes, tripods, lighting tools, chroma key equipment, computers, televisions, dongles, sound systems, voice recorders, UPS, transformers, security cameras, and office equipment. The Taliban have not only refrained from providing details on this matter but have also referred to the staff of this television station as “big devils.”
Officials and some former employees of the Meshrano Jirga TV report that all the technical equipment and office supplies of this television station have been seized by the Taliban. According to them, these items were taken as a result of inter-group tensions between fighters affiliated with the Haqqani network, under the command of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Taliban’s interior ministry, and fighters of the Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the head of the Taliban’s defense ministry.
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that in the initial days of the fall of the previous government, the office of this television station fell into the control of Haqqani network-affiliated fighters. However, later, Taliban forces from the Kandahar faction of the group warned them to vacate the office and hand it over to them.
Based on information provided by some former employees of this television station and informed sources, Haqqani network fighters, after tensions with the Kandahar faction of the Taliban which is affiliated with the acting Ministry of Defense of the group, confiscated all the technical and office equipment from the Meshrano Jirga TV.
Former officials and some sources state that the equipment and facilities of this television station were purchased at a cost ranging from three to five million Afghanis, but the last official of this television station claims that these equipment were purchased at a cost of around USD 100,000.
According to statements from former officials and informed sources, a small Taliban faction that initially took control of this office seized cameras, televisions, furniture, studio technical equipment, security cameras, and other office equipment.
The Hasht-e Subh Daily has shared the claims of former staff members with at least three additional sources who are confirming this information. According to this information, the looted items by Taliban fighters from the office of the Meshrano Jirga TV include cameras, televisions, cranes, tripods, lighting tools, chroma key pieces of equipment, computers, dongles, sound systems, voice recorders, UPS, transformers, security cameras, and office equipment.
Meshrano Jirga TV had 57 employees. These staff members were engaged in reporting, broadcasting, filming, photography, and technical and administrative departments, with only 12 of them officially appointed and the remaining 45 on contractual terms.
In the early days of their rule, the Taliban prohibited the staff of this television station from attending their workplaces. Officials and some employees of the former Meshrano Jirga TV state that the fighters of this group mistreated them, even preventing them from taking their personal belongings from their offices.
Why did Haroon Nairoomand commit suicide?
One of the former employees of Meshrano Jirga TV, who prefers to remain anonymous, spoke to the Hasht-e Subh Daily and revealed that after Haroon Nairoomand became aware of the looting of the television’s equipment and facilities, he came under intense mental pressure. According to the source, most of the television’s assets were under his supervision, causing him great distress.
The former employee of Meshrano Jirga TV stated, “When Haroon Nairoomand learned that the television’s property had been looted, and despite the Taliban’s promise to pay salaries for four to five months, on the other hand, this poor fellow was dealing with economic difficulties. We were colleagues, aware of each other’s living conditions, unfortunately, things reached a point where Haroon hanged himself one night. This was a deeply shocking incident for us.”
In the past two years, the Taliban have repeatedly compelled journalists, military personnel, and former government officials to make forced confessions. According to reports from the Hasht-e Subh Daily on the state of Taliban prisons, methods such as urinating on the face, suspension from the feet, attaching heavy stones to testicles, electric shocks, and sleep deprivation are common torture techniques employed by the Taliban in their prisons. Many detainees have shared even more harrowing accounts with the media after their release.
Some former employees of the Meshrano Jirga TV state that Haroon pursued bitter and agonizing narratives of Taliban torture to extract forced confessions. Due to the gradual fear of death, he took his own life. According to them, the Taliban had interrogated Haroon multiple times to return items registered in his name, even though all the equipment and facilities of this television station had been “looted” by their fighters.
A colleague of Haroon Nairoomand reports, “The reporter who went to Haroon’s house was told by his father and brother that the Taliban were looking for Haroon every day. They instructed him to bring back the camera, saying, ‘Your camera is missing, bring it back.'”
Some of Haroon Nairoomand’s colleagues, who were informed during the data collection process, confirm that there is no precise information about the exact date of the equipment theft from the Meshrano Jirga TV, but this act took place after November 1, 2021. According to them, at least a week after the “theft” of technical equipment and office supplies, Haroon Nairoomand, under intensified pressures from the Taliban, took his own life.
These former House of Elders employees add that alongside the fear of Taliban detention and torture, the non-payment of salaries for at least five months for television staff, especially Haroon, had left many of them in poverty and destitution.
Previously, Haroon Nairoomand’s father and brother also told the media that after the disappearance of the Meshrano Jirga TV equipment, increased pressures from the Taliban, and facing poverty and unemployment, he hanged himself, putting an end to his life.
Haroon Nairoomand was a graduate of law and political science, and he had worked for approximately three years at the Meshrano Jirga TV. Before his tragic suicide, he served as the head of the technical department of this television station. His colleagues consistently praise his good conduct, work proficiency, and commitment to serving the nation.
These Former employees of the Meshrano Jirga TV confirm that after the Taliban looted the television equipment, Haroon Nairoomand, an official staff member whose name was associated with many of the items due to his formal role in the office, took his own life on November 9, 2021, as a result of psychological pressures and economic difficulties.
At least five former employees of this television station confirm that Haroon Nairoomand, an official staff member of the former Senate TV, committed suicide after the television equipment was looted. According to them, most of the items were registered in his name, and after the news broke that the television station had been “looted,” he took his own life.
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that contractual employees of the Meshrano Jirga TV, who had not received their salaries even during the republic regime, have repeatedly visited Taliban offices, including the previous Ministry of Information and Culture controlled by this group under the management of Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesperson.
Based on details provided by some employees present during discussions with Mujahid, he promised to investigate the matter and ensure the payment of employees’ salaries. However, for over two years, none of the Taliban’s commitments in this regard have been fulfilled, and only the formal employees of this department received their salaries until the end of the Solar year 1400 (March 2022).
Meanwhile, Mirwais Khawarin, the head of the former Meshrano Jirga TV, confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that after the Taliban took control of the country, they did not allow any employees, including himself, to enter the office, labeling them “big devils.” According to him, the Taliban fighters who initially took control of this television station took away all the equipment and accessories of the television station.
The official of the former Meshrano Jirga TV adds, “A Taliban commander from Maidan Wardak province was in charge. When I insisted too much, he allowed us into the TV courtyard. His talks were only full of contempt, insults, and warnings, and eventually, we were forced to stop going there. Even though they went there daily, they were not allowed to enter. Another day, the Taliban intelligence chief in Meshrano Jirga, named Ashraf Shahidi, summoned us. He had a stern demeanor and said, ‘You journalists are big devils, and we don’t need you.'”
Mr. Khawarin states, “The Meshrano Jirga TV was built with the efforts of House of Elders members, equipped with modern facilities and ample resources. Equipment was purchased with a significant amount of money. Cameras, crane, studio, chroma key, voice recorders, and computers, … everything requirement was fulfilled for the station.”
This official of the former Senate TV also confirms that the equipment of this television has been “looted” due to internal Taliban disputes. He accuses the Taliban of Maidan Wardak province of the theft of this equipment, who entered this television for the first time. These fighters are affiliated with the Haqqani network, a faction within the Taliban.
Mr. Khawarin states, “There were approximately seven or eight cameras, three cameras were installed in the studio with cranes, tripods, and complementary lighting. We had about 100 square meters of chroma key. There were computers, sound systems, voice recorders, computers for audio and video editing, UPS devices, transformers—everything was available. The security camera system was active. In the last days of the previous government, all items and equipment were recorded and are still present in the office. The estimated value of the equipment in this office is around USD 100,000.”
Simultaneously, Mohammad Alam Izedyar, the First Deputy Speaker of the former House of Elders, in an interview with Hasht-e Subh Daily, confirms the statements of the TV official of the Senate, stating that after the Taliban takeover, employees were unable to access their offices, and during this period, all TV equipment was looted.
On the other hand, one of the former officials of this TV, who prefers to remain anonymous in the report, says that with the Taliban in control, this group not only failed to pay the salaries of the employees but also plundered all the technical equipment and office supplies of this institution. He claims that the building of this television station has now been turned into “Mullah Yaqoob’s Guesthouse.”
The former employee of the Meshrano Jirga TV reveals, “All the equipment was seized, broken, and looted. Various cameras, technical equipment, and the branch section in its entirety were plundered. The technical tool known as ‘dongle,’ which are sold for five thousand USD in the market, were all looted.” This former official of the Meshrano Jirga TV continues, “Three indoor cameras, three outdoor cameras, almost 20 computers, and other television equipment have been taken away by the Taliban.”
Another staff member of the former Senate TV, speaking to Hasht-e Subh Daily, states, “The properties of the television station are all looted. The Taliban have now turned this place into a madrasa.” He adds that the equipment of this TV has been looted due to internal disputes among the Taliban. This former employee further adds, “The Taliban from the Kandahar faction told the Haqqanis to vacate the television station, or else the situation would worsen. The Haqqanis vacated the place, and they took the pieces of equipment with them. The equipment has been stolen due to the Taliban’s ignorance.”
The former employee of the Meshrano Jirga TV states, “On the second day of the republic’s fall, we went to the office. The Taliban instructed us that until further notice do not enter the television station. At that time, the station was under the control of the Haqqani network.” He continues, “Screens, cameras, and other equipment purchased for thousands of dollars were looted. The Kandahar faction of the Taliban had given a three-day ultimatum to the Haqqanis to vacate and leave the area for them, when the Taliban from Kandahar arrived, there was nothing left in the television station.”
Employees of the former Senate TV claim that, in an attempt to resolve this issue and receive several months’ unpaid salaries, they have repeatedly approached relevant Taliban authorities. However, the group has not responded to any of their requests and has not paid their salaries. They assert that they have not received salaries for six months, but when they went to the Taliban offices, they were told to go to the previous administration to receive their salaries.
This comes as Taliban officials have been repeatedly accused of seizing government assets over the past two years. In the latest case, the Hasht-e Subh Daily reports that a local Taliban official in Bamyan province has transferred many government equipment and facilities to his home during his tenure, which is currently under investigation by the group’s intelligence.
Furthermore, in the early days of their control over Afghanistan, the Taliban seized numerous government offices, personal properties, and cash belonging to former government officials from their homes. The group towed away the personal vehicles of former government officials, members of parliament, and even businessmen from parking lots, placing them under the command of their commanders and fighters.
As of the publication of this report, the Taliban have not responded to the concerns raised by the former Senate TV employees, and in similar cases, they have consistently accused the media of spreading falsehoods and dismissed the allegations.