KABUL - The Security Council in a recently held decided that a responsible official in each province should provide information to journalist, a source in the Presidential Palace said on Saturday.

Earlier, officials in several provinces said they had been told by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) not to share information with media outlets.

That officials’ stance sparked anger among journalists with the Afghanistan Independent Journalist Association (AIJA) in a statement said that Security Council barred provincial officials from sharing information.

The statement said that the Ministry of Interior had been directed to issue media with information on security related issues in future.

But sources close to Presidential Palace said that official had denied slashing ban over the release of security related information to the media.

MoI Spokesman Sadique Sadiqui said: “We have public affairs officials in provinces who are tasked to share information with media on regular basis.”

MoI wanted to regulate release of information to media in a proper way to ensure that journalists got credible information, he said, adding that in the past there were several channels claiming to be speaking on behalf of MoI.

He said that government was committed to ensure that media had access to information under established laws. (Pajhwok)