Civil servants banned from using smartphones in Afghanistan

The leader of the Taliban movement, the supreme leader of Afghanistan, Khaibatullah Akhundzada, ordered a ban on the use of smartphones by members of the movement and government officials. This was reported on June 8 by the Afghanistan International TV channel with reference to the relevant document.

Despite the existence of a legal justification, it is noted that Akhundzada's order was "oral." The document describes violators of the new law "as criminals, and also warns that they may face a military court," the TV channel reports.

According to Afghanistan International, the order was brought to the heads of military courts in eight zones of Afghanistan, the Newspaper said.Ru». The information was also shared with police chiefs and representatives of intelligence agencies. Allegedly, the responsible persons are instructed to ensure the implementation of the ban and regularly report on its implementation to the leadership of the movement.

A special registry has been prepared to monitor compliance with the new rules. It contains information about employees, including their positions, place of service, mobile operator, and phone number. They will be supervised, the TV channel reports.

The KabulNow portal clarifies that after the decree was issued, the Taliban distributed a video in which a member of the movement destroys his smartphone. The publication adds that the measure is aimed at "strengthening internal discipline" and information control for security purposes.

According to Afghanistan International, three days before the decree, a directive from the Taliban Ministry of Education ordered students not to bring smartphones to schools or religious seminaries. The head of the department described mobile phones as "one of the three main enemies of Muslims."

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In September last year, it was reported that the Internet was completely shut down in Afghanistan. According to the international monitoring service NetBlocks, telephone communication was also disrupted in the country.

Later, on October 1, the Taliban government denied reports that it had banned and disabled the Internet in the country. Zabihullah Mujahid, the movement's chief spokesman, explained that communication disruptions are due to "collapsing fiber-optic infrastructure." Izvestia's sources confirmed at the same time that the Afghan authorities had partially restored access to the Network.