Afghanistan marked one day since the Taliban’s new order took effect, banning government officials at every level from using smartphones and threatening dismissal and legal action. The directive was issued by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, and experts say it may be a trial run for a wider ban on the public. Reports from inside the country already suggest the restriction is being enforced not only on state employees but also on ordinary citizens.
According to the Taliban letter circulated last week, all government office heads were told to inform staff at both senior and junior levels that smartphone use would be “completely forbidden” from June 17. The order says a violator’s phone will be smashed and the person will face “legal and sharia punishment.” It applies to employees in military institutions and civilian authorities, with exceptions allowed only by the supreme leader.
On Tuesday evening, public-sector workers began switching off their phones and disconnecting from the outside world. Footage from Afghanistan showed phones being destroyed, including one clip in which a Taliban member read the ban aloud from his own phone while another person broke devices. Afghan workers said they were told they could now use only basic phones or email, and warned that punishment could include not only firing but also six months in prison. Teachers and other employees said the ban would make their jobs much harder, or even impossible. One teacher said, “We need apps to stay in touch with our students and hear about their problems,” adding that students use WhatsApp groups to ask about homework. A Ministry of Education employee said he had used AI tools on his smartphone to translate from Dari into Pashto for official correspondence, and now did not know what would happen.
The move follows last September’s two-day cutoff of Afghanistan from the global internet, justified by the regime as a response to “immoral” content, usually meaning pornography. That shutdown paralyzed the country, disrupting trade, airports and hospitals, before authorities reversed it. Analysts say the new ban may be tied either to rare protests in Herat after women and girls were detained over “inappropriate hijabs,” or to Taliban concerns that staff are distracted by phones and leaking material from meetings, including documents and recordings.
