Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued a verbal order banning group members and civil servants from using smartphones, according to reports from KabulNow and Afghanistan International.
The order was given during a meeting with heads of military courts, police chiefs, and intelligence service leaders from eight provinces. The directive was sent to military courts in those regions by the Taliban's department for monitoring and enforcement of decrees.
Violators are considered criminals and will be handed over to military courts. A special monitoring list has been created, recording each individual's name, position, place of service, mobile operator, and phone number.
Following the announcement, videos emerged showing Taliban members smashing their smartphones. The police chief of Barmal district in Paktika province and 14 of his subordinates reportedly destroyed their devices as well.
The rationale for the ban and alternative communication methods remain undisclosed. Previously, in late September 2025, Akhundzada ordered the shutdown of internet and phone services, effectively isolating Afghanistan from the outside world. Internet was restored three days later without explanation, but internal sources suggest unprecedented behind-the-scenes conflict, with the 'Kabul group' defying Akhundzada's order and reactivating the internet.
Akhundzada is known to distrust the internet entirely, considering online information contrary to Islam. He is so adamant that his assistant reads him news and social media updates every morning, BBC reports. The 'Kabul group', however, believes a modern state cannot function without the internet.
Shortly before the smartphone ban, the Taliban's Islamic education department issued a separate document prohibiting students from bringing smartphones to schools and madrasas, according to Afghanistan International.
The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after the Western coalition withdrew its troops, allowing them to seize control of the country. They previously ruled from 1996 to 2001, establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was unrecognized by most states and overthrown in 2001 with Western support.
In February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed a deal in Doha aimed at initiating a peace process. Under the agreement, the West was to withdraw troops, and the Taliban were to cut ties with Al-Qaeda and begin negotiations with the official Afghan government. However, negotiations never started; as the Taliban overran the country in 2021, President Ashraf Ghani fled to the UAE.
The Taliban have previously banned chess, women appearing in public with uncovered faces, playing music in cars, ministers meeting foreign diplomats, and teaching books written by women at universities.
Source: www.gazeta.uz