Afghan govt staff abandon smartphones

KABUL: Government employees in several parts of Afghanistan have begun turning off their smartphones after an order they told AFP was issued on Wednesday and came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

A letter announcing a ban on smartphones for all government staff started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court. According to the letter, all heads of departments in their provinces were instructed to notify staff at every level that smartphone use was strictly prohibited from 17 June. The order covered both military and civilian departments and said any exemption could only be granted by the supreme leader.

The Supreme Court did not respond to AFP requests for comment on the letter. Two government spokesmen also did not answer requests for comment on the reported decision. By Wednesday afternoon, several central government departments were still sharing information through their WhatsApp groups.

In Ghazni province, between Kabul and Kandahar, government workers began disconnecting from their smartphones on Tuesday evening. AFP reported that Irfan Andarh, an official in the mines and petroleum department, informed a WhatsApp group that smartphone use inside all offices in Ghazni province would be barred from Wednesday, citing the supreme leader’s decision. He said employees would remain reachable through telephone calls and email.

One municipal employee in Ghazni, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told AFP that staff had been warned that anyone found using a smartphone would be dismissed and could also face legal action. In Badakhshan province in the northeast, an employee of the provincial information department said the punishment for violating the rule was six months in prison.

"All the heads of departments in their respective provinces are advised to inform their staff, higher-ranking or lower-ranking, that using smartphones is strictly banned effective 17 June," the letter itself stated.