Afghan newsstands are a little less diverse these days, but their readership doesn't seem to mind.<br/> <br />At least some residents in Kabul said they welcomed the government's decision to ban Pakistani newspapers from being sold inside Afghanistan.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Pashto)MOHAMMAD NAIEM, RESIDENT OF KABUL; SAYING:<br/> <br />"We appreciate the decision made by the Afghan interior ministry regarding the banning of Pakistani newspapers. It is a right decision because the Pakistani papers were publishing propaganda and anti-government rhetoric."<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Dari) MOHAMMAD SAMIM, NEWSPAPER SELLER; SAYING:<br/> <br />"We are so delighted that Afghan interior ministry banned the entry of Pakistani papers into Afghanistan. We welcome this decision."<br/> <br />On Sunday, authorities confirmed they were banning the newspapers over claims of anti-government propaganda aimed at Kabul.<br/> <br />The papers had also published speeches by Taliban insurgents, worrying Afghan officials that nascent peace talks could be at risk.<br/> <br />Ties between the two nations are tense due months of cross-border shelling and operations targeting insurgents along their shared border ahead of the NATO pullout in 2014.
