The Taliban has started enforcing a broad ban on smartphone use for government workers and members of the movement in Afghanistan, and has warned that violators may have their devices destroyed and face harsh penalties. A decree circulated by Taliban military courts says, “If someone uses one of them, his phone will be smashed and legal and Sharia punishments will be imposed on him.”
A video shared online shows a senior Taliban figure reading the order while another man smashes smartphones. Reports from inside Afghanistan say enforcement varies by area, and in some places the restriction has also been extended to women, civilians, teachers, students and health workers. Local sources said some offices had already banned employees from bringing smartphones to work months ago.
A government worker in Herat said, “They confiscated our phones, and when we protested, they simply smashed them.” Analysts said the Taliban fears internal leaks, the spread of footage from protests against the regime, and a drop in government employees’ productivity. One expert told The Guardian that smartphones and their effect on productivity are a universal challenge, but he had not seen other countries legislate against them.
