Afghanistan bans smartphones for Taliban members and government officials

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has banned smartphones for members of the group and government officials.

Afghanistan International writes about this, citing internal documents.

The document states that violators will face court martial. The order has already been sent to courts and security forces.

The country has long restricted the use of smartphones. The Talibanʼs Minister of Higher Education called them "one of the three main enemies of Muslims" and banned their use in schools and universities.

Taliban prohibitions in Afghanistan

After seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban began to gradually impose numerous restrictions. They mainly affect women. In particular, the Taliban banned women from studying in universities and high schools, ordered private universities not to allow them to take entrance exams, and banned women from working in NGOs, playing sports, visiting amusement parks, and driving without a hijab.

The country also closed beauty salons for women, banned women from visiting Band-e-Amir National Park, and sent women who had been subjected to violence to prison. Later, the Taliban banned women from speaking in public, and later from communicating with each other.

In addition, Afghanistan banned the installation of windows in houses that would overlook places where women often go — the yard, kitchen, well, etc.

In March 2024, Taliban supreme leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada vowed to begin publicly stoning women to death as a sign of their fight against Western democracy.

And in September 2025, Afghanistan experienced a massive communications outage. As it later turned out, the authorities had cut off fiber optic connections in several provinces to prevent the “disaster”.

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