KABUL, June 25 (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Taliban government has implemented a sweeping, nationwide ban on the use of touchscreen smartphones for all civilian and military personnel. The directive, issued by the regime’s military courts, mandates that any government employee caught with such a device will face immediate confiscation and destruction of the phone, alongside potential prosecution in military courts.
The order, which officially went into effect on June 16, applies to a broad spectrum of personnel, including high-ranking leaders, judges, and general service staff. To enforce compliance, administrative departments have begun distributing tracking forms to log the specific phone numbers, mobile networks, and identities of every worker.
The restriction has caused significant operational challenges within state institutions. Because much of the government’s daily coordination, documentation, and communication previously relied on email, smartphones, and messaging platforms like WhatsApp, the sudden prohibition has brought many administrative processes to a standstill.
While the mandate is officially aimed at public sector employees, reports from provinces indicate that the enforcement is expanding in an ad-hoc manner. Local authorities in areas such as Panjshir have begun implementing the ban within office environments, and observers have noted similar seizures involving civilians, teachers, and students.
Human rights advocates express concern that the smartphone ban serves as a component of a wider strategy to regulate information flows. This policy aligns with previous regional efforts by the regime to restrict the use of mobile devices among students and limit the availability of fiber-optic internet services.
Activists emphasize that mobile technology has served as a vital tool for documentation and education within the country. Discussing the wider implications of the policy, women’s rights activist Sanam Kabiri stated:
“Today, a smartphone is no longer just a source of entertainment; 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.”
The regime has established that exemptions to the policy are extremely rare and require an explicit, written decree issued directly from the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Despite the strict enforcement applied to lower-level officials and the public, reports suggest that high-ranking members of the administration continue to utilize smartphones and encrypted apps to manage state affairs and public relations. These top officials are currently working to secure the necessary written exemptions to ensure their own devices remain protected from the destruction mandate.
