Several government employees under Taliban control say the group has imposed a ban on smartphone use across all institutions. They add that the Taliban have warned that anyone defying the order will be referred to the group’s military court and have their smartphones destroyed. Employees say the measure was issued on the verbal order of the group’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Taliban have also destroyed the smartphones of several teachers at schools in Khost province, and on the same day, asked all of them to bring in their phones to be destroyed as proof of their “obedience and loyalty” to Akhundzada.
An audio recording obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily captures a local Taliban official in Badghis ordering all teachers and education staff in the province to stop bringing smartphones into government offices, and barring them from using such phones between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In the recording, the official says, “As of Saturday, smartphones are completely banned. A meeting was held; anyone who uses one from Saturday onward will be referred to the military court, and their phone will be destroyed. Taking pictures and photography are completely prohibited. Get basic phones and use them only for calls. No calls of any kind through WhatsApp will be accepted, and after four o’clock, we take no responsibility.”
A government employee in Herat also confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban have ordered staff not to use smartphones during official working hours, warning that violators will be referred to the military court. “The use of smartphones by Herat’s government employees is banned, and violators will be taken to the military court,” he said. “This order was issued today.”
A government employee in Kabul, confirming the ban, said: “They only have to issue one decree, and then no one outside can use them anymore, that’s it. After that, they will cut the internet without a second thought. They do not trust former employees at all, which is why they have banned the phones.”
A video circulating on social media shows smartphones being destroyed in Khost province. Sources say the phones belonged to teachers at a school in the province.
Local sources in Khost say the destruction of teachers’ phones continued throughout the day, with everyone told to bring in their devices and destroy them in obedience to Akhundzada. According to the sources, teachers were questioned indirectly and by deception about whether they owned smartphones. Their names were then recorded, and they were warned to bring their phones in for destruction the next day or hand them over to the Taliban to be destroyed as a sign of obedience to the group. Teachers were told that smartphones are “the glow of Satan” and devices that must not be used.
The sources add that for teachers who struggle to earn even ten afghanis, destroying a working phone is a heavy loss. As a result, most have tried to find old phones to either destroy or hand over to Taliban representatives.
Another video circulating on social media shows several Taliban members destroying their own smartphones. Sources say the fighters did so to demonstrate their obedience to Akhundzada and their loyalty to his orders.
Besmillah Taban, a researcher on security affairs, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban’s concern over smartphones is, more than a religious or administrative matter, a serious security concern.
“Although the Taliban want information reflected in mass media, and have used it since 2010 as an important tool to promote their own narrative, they are now worried that they cannot manage all these accounts, even those held by their own members and supporters,” Taban said. The Taliban, he added, fear being exposed and having the daily realities of Afghanistan brought to light. He stressed that the ban on smartphones in government offices is, in effect, a prelude to a sweeping nationwide ban on smartphone use.
“Generally, the Taliban prefer to be loathed and feared across society rather than popular and feared by no one,” the researcher said.
Employees of government institutions under Taliban rule say the restrictions stem from the group’s fear of rising public awareness and the prospect of popular protests organized through social media. They say the media and online platforms have become a vital means of sharing information and connecting people, and that restricting them cannot erase the discontent that already exists.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
ممنوعیت تلفنهای هوشمند؛ گامی دیگر هیبتالله برای خاموشکردن صداها و پنهانکردن واقعیت
