The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions.

In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones.

In one video published online, a Taliban official appears to be shown reading the banning order from his phone while the other person is shown breaking phones.

The order states: “If anyone uses one, their mobile phone will be smashed and legal and sharia punishment will be imposed on the violator.” It adds that any exemptions require a written decree from the Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Guardian was unable to reach a Taliban spokesperson.

Reports and sources inside Afghanistan say that the bans are being implemented in an “ad-hoc” way – in some areas targeting only government officials, in some cities and provinces extending to women, civilians, medical workers, schoolteachers and students.

“A lot of things happen at the local level, because of what someone local has decided. But also, it could be a prelude to a blanket ban and they are just testing the waters,” said an analyst who works on Afghanistan.

The bans come after escalating efforts by the Taliban to completely cut Afghanistan off from the global internet. In September, authorities ordered an internet blackout which lasted two days and was vaguely justified by concerns over pornography; the order said the cutoff was to “prevent immorality”.

There are probably several factors driving the latest ban. First, the street demonstrations that broke out in the western city of Herat after the Taliban arrested women and girls for “improper hijab”. In the course of the protests, Taliban forces appeared to fire into a crowd and killed at least two people.

This event may have provided some impetus for the restrictions, said the analyst. “The videos that came out of the protests in Herat raised a lot of alarms. The emirate was trying to contain it. In the beginning, they denied it. They said, no, no, this didn’t happen. Then the videos started coming out.”

However, the Taliban were pushing smartphone bans before the protests – for reasons including fear of internal leaks, and worries that they were eroding productivity among officials.

In the province of Herat, in western Afghanistan, two government employees said that bans on smartphones had been in place for months.

“About two months ago they said not to bring your mobile phones to the office,” said one. “Me and a few colleagues didn’t take it seriously. They confiscated them, and after we made a fuss about it, they smashed our phones” – a loss he estimated at about 8,000 afghanis (£95).

Then there is the problem of leaks: there are a lot of them, said the analyst, because government officials are using their smartphones to photograph documents – and record the occasional meeting – and then allowing these, one way or another, to make it out into the public before the supreme leader signs it off.

Employees wasting time online and leaking information may be part of the usual challenges of governance. The difference, said the analyst, is the Taliban’s approach to it.

“Smartphones and being online affecting productivity to a certain extent is universal. The difference here is that I haven’t seen any other countries legislating against it.” (The Guardian)

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After having sent 40,000 MT of wheat to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan through the land border with Pakistan, the government will provide another 20,000 MT of the grain via Iran’s Chabahar port to the landlocked country grappling with food insecurity.

The first tranche of 2,500 MT of wheat sent through the Chabahar port is expected to arrive in Herat this week, according to Taliban authorities. This is the first consignment of food aid sent to Afghanistan by India this year.

In a landmark decision, and a peace outreach to the Taliban that seems to have served India well, the government had approached Islamabad in 2021 to allow India to send 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan via the land border with Pakistan. Islamabad agreed after the Taliban, setting aside their past antipathy for India, urged Islamabad under then PM Imran Khan, to allow the Indian government to use the land route for wheat supplies. Last month, the Taliban also appointed an envoy to India seeking better ties. Pakistan doesn’t otherwise allow outbound trade from India to Afghanistan and central Asian countries through its territory. India, however, could only send 40,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan in the time period specified by Pakistan for the delivery. The remaining 10,000, and an additional 10,000 MT of the grain, is now being dispatched to Chabahar for delivery to Afghanistan.

Like all major powers, including Russia and China, India hasn’t recognised the Taliban government in Kabul but it hasn’t let that come in the way of efforts to help Afghanistan deal with humanitarian challenges. Participating in a security conference on Afghanistan earlier this year in Moscow, NSA Ajit Doval had said India will never “abandon” the Afghan people in their time of need.

India also reopened its embassy in June last year following repeated assurances by the Taliban of safety and security of Indian officials. The government though wants the Taliban to ensure no part of Afghan territory is used by Pakistan-backed terror groups for anti-India activities and that there’s a more inclusive and representative government in Kabul.

Significantly, the Taliban last month named their first envoy to India in a move they see as a rational decision that will pave the way for better relations with India. The charge d’affaires-designate, Qadir Shah, is yet to assume charge though with Afghan diplomats from the previous administration, who remain in control of the embassy, apparently expelling him. Shah last week accused Afghan diplomats of stealing his car too in a complaint to the Indian government.

India has so far kept away from the infighting saying it’s for the Afghan authorities to resolve the issue. In the case of an extended standoff though, the government might have to decide who it wants to work with as it looks to coordinate further delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. (Times of India)

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