The Taliban has ordered media in three provinces of Afghanistan to stop airing images of any living being, a drastic step widely criticized by journalism and civil liberty groups. A Taliban official said this week that state-run media in the provinces of Takhar, Kandahar, and Maidan Wardak have been told to stop showing images of living things. Experts who spoke with VOA said the Taliban also met with local media outlets and told them that the rule also applied to their coverage.