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Episode details

World Service,05 Aug 2021,9 mins

Afghanistan's battle of the airwaves

Witness History

Available for over a year

When the US led invasion of Afghanistan ousted the repressive Taliban regime in 2001, it was no longer illegal to listen to music or news on the radio. Afghan businessman Saad Mohseni returned to his home town of Kabul to launch Arman FM, a new radio station which played modern music and comedy programmes amongst other things which had been banned under the Taliban. He tells Rebecca Kesby why he wanted to help rebuild the cultural life of Afghanistan, how one radio station expanded into a multimedia company, and how persistent security problems have impacted his staff. (Photo: Afghan radio DJ, Seema Safa, talks on Arman FM radio station in Kabul in 2014. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

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