Afghanistan's Taliban government imposes smartphone ban on government officials

KABUL: Afghanistan's Taliban government has ordered a nationwide ban on civil servants' smartphone use, a military court order showed, prompting ​warnings from rights activists that the move could further restrict access ‌to information.

The court order seen by Reuters states that smartphone use by "all officials of the military and civilian institutions, including judges", will be prohibited from June 16.

Violators will ​have their cellphones smashed and face punishment under the law, the ​order said.

The Taliban administration did not respond to a request ⁠for comment. However, The Kabul Tribune (KT) reported that Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology denied measures to curtail the use of smartphones. According to KT, the ministry, through a statement issued on June 18, said claims by some media outlets, including remarks attributed to Communications Minister Abdul Ahad Fazli, were false and had no official basis.

Government employees said the restriction had already disrupted official work, while ​at least one provincial authority has announced an immediate implementation of the ban.

"The ​impact has been so significant that many administrative processes have effectively come to a halt, because most official work was previously carried out through mobile phones, WhatsApp, and email," ​a government employee said.

The governor of Panjshir province said in a statement that ​the ban would be implemented inside all its offices.

Rights advocates said smartphones remain one ‌of the ⁠few tools Afghans use to access education, document abuses, communicate privately and reach uncensored information.

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They said the order could mark another step in the Taliban's tightening control over public life since returning to power in August 2021.

Since ​then, the Taliban ​have imposed sweeping restrictions ⁠on women and girls, the media and civil society. Girls remain barred from secondary schools and universities, many women ​have been pushed out of employment, and activists and journalists have ​reported ⁠intimidation, detention and censorship.

"Today, a smartphone is no longer just a source of entertainment," said Sanam Kabiri, a women's rights activist based in Australia.

"When its use ⁠is prohibited ​in government offices, it raises concerns that ​the objective may extend beyond maintaining administrative order to also restricting access to information and communication."