Kabul, May 01: The opening of the first independent press club in Kabul marks further progress in freedom of the press in Afghanistan, where around 150 new publications have appeared since the fall of the Taliban at the end of 2001. "Kabul Press Club," indicated by a sign in English and Dari over the entrance, is nestled in the central Kabul headquarters of the French organisation AINA, which is working to develop independent media in Afghanistan. The grounds are home to several other independent media organisations. The newly-renovated two-storey club, which opened Tuesday evening, provides radio, television and Internet communications but its main use is as a meeting point for Afghan journalists. It also aims to provide a venue for press conferences and media events and to help promote freedom of the press and of expression in Afghanistan. The club was born out of an initiative by AINA, the media rights watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres and an Afghan Journalists' Association, the Afghan Centre for Promotion of Communication, which takes care of the everyday management. "Afghan journalists are in fact divided into several camps," explained RSF representative Vincent Brossel. "There are those who stayed in the country under the Taliban regime, there are those who went into exile in Europe or Pakistan, or yet others close to the northern alliance who worked alongside former commander Masood..." "The change is radical." The Afghan press today enjoys "unprecedented freedom," the media rights watchdog said in its last report. Bureau Report