Research challenges
Chapter 4. Treatment of certain profiles and groups of the population mainly focuses on targeting acts by the de facto authorities and other armed groups towards certain profiles. In some cases, the perpetrator is difficult to identify, and the motives may be unclear. For these reasons, establishing a connection between an act and a certain group or profile is often challenging. Furthermore, some individuals may be targeted for a range of reasons and by multiple actors. This is particularly challenging in the Afghan context, where diverse and overlapping identities permeate society along religious, ethnic, tribal and/or linguistic lines.
Since the Taliban takeover, Afghan local media and civil society have faced numerous restrictions, and it has become increasingly difficult to retrieve reliable and up-to-date information from the country. Especially media coverage on the situation in remote rural areas is difficult to obtain as the remaining media offices have been concentrated in Kabul City. Afghan media in exile, such as Hasht-e Subh, Afghanistan International, Amu TV and Kabul Now, have been used restrictively due to difficulties assessing their reliability and due to objectivity concerns. Reports have been included based on a case-by-case assessment taking into account the value of the information provided and the availability of contrasting information from other sources.