The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials, raising concerns among analysts that this could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions across Afghanistan.
Directive Issued by Military Courts
In a directive issued by the Taliban's military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban took effect this week and prohibits "high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff" from using mobile phones. A video published online appears to show a Taliban official reading the order from his phone while another person smashes devices.
The order states: "If anyone uses one, their mobile phone will be smashed and legal and sharia punishment will be imposed on the violator." It adds that any exemptions require a written decree from the Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Guardian was unable to reach a Taliban spokesperson.
Ad-Hoc Implementation
Reports and sources inside Afghanistan indicate that the bans are being implemented in an "ad-hoc" manner. In some areas, the restrictions target only government officials, while in other cities and provinces, they extend to women, civilians, medical workers, schoolteachers, and students.
"A lot of things happen at the local level, because of what someone local has decided. But also, it could be a prelude to a blanket ban and they are just testing the waters," said an analyst who works on Afghanistan.
Escalating Internet Restrictions
The bans come after escalating efforts by the Taliban to completely cut Afghanistan off from the global internet. In September, authorities ordered an internet blackout that lasted two days, vaguely justified by concerns over pornography. The order said the cutoff was to "prevent immorality."
The Afghanistan analyst noted that the cutoff was done hastily and without foresight, freezing commerce across the country and affecting emergency services and aviation. "The private sector was freaking out, the banking sector was freaking out, even their own people – the security sector and the supreme leader's office – and they realised 'OK guys, we didn't really think this through', so they put it back on," the analyst said.
Driving Factors Behind the Ban
Several factors likely drove the latest ban. First, street demonstrations broke out in the western city of Herat after the Taliban arrested women and girls for "improper hijab." During the protests, Taliban forces appeared to fire into a crowd, killing at least two people.
This event may have provided some impetus for the restrictions, said the analyst. "The videos that came out of the protests in Herat raised a lot of alarms. The emirate was trying to contain it. In the beginning, they denied it. They said, no, no, this didn't happen. Then the videos started coming out."
However, the Taliban were pushing smartphone bans before the protests, driven by fears of internal leaks and concerns that smartphones were eroding productivity among officials. In Herat province, two government employees said bans on smartphones had been in place for months.
"About two months ago they said not to bring your mobile phones to the office," said one. "Me and a few colleagues didn't take it seriously. They confiscated them, and after we made a fuss about it, they smashed our phones" – a loss he estimated at about 8,000 afghanis (£95).
The analyst explained that the Taliban worry "people are just on their phones all the time and they're not working. And, you know, smartphones shouldn't belong at work." Additionally, leaks are a significant problem because government officials use smartphones to photograph documents and record meetings, which then make their way into the public before the supreme leader approves them.
While employees wasting time online and leaking information may be part of the usual challenges of governance, the analyst highlighted the Taliban's unique approach: "Smartphones and being online affecting productivity to a certain extent is universal. The difference here is that I haven't seen any other countries legislating against it."
