Bakhtar News Agency
Bakhtar News Agency (آژانس خبری باختر) is Afghanistan’s official state news agency, established in 1939 by the Government Press Department and headquartered in Kabul. The agency operates under the supervision of the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture and publishes content in eight languages: Dari, Pashto, English, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Chinese, with its English-language service launched in 1992 to serve foreign diplomats and international audiences. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Bakhtar has become a key component of the regime’s media infrastructure, with reports indicating the agency now functions as “a state propaganda outlet” under strict editorial oversight. The agency operates with approximately 175 staff including 90 journalists across all 33 provinces, producing around 200 news reports daily while serving as the primary news source for all governmental media outlets. In 2002, Agence France-Presse established a satellite link to provide news information to Bakhtar.