Afghanistan's Taliban leadership has ordered all government employees to stop using smartphones, a sweeping directive that took effect on 17 June and applies to military and civilian staff at every level. The order, issued under the emblem of the Supreme Court and attributed to Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, states that exemptions can only be granted by the supreme leader himself. Penalties for non-compliance range from confiscation and destruction of devices to dismissal and, in some provinces, up to six months in prison.

The ban is being enforced unevenly across the country. In Ghazni province — situated between the capital Kabul and Kandahar, the seat of the supreme leader — officials began switching off their phones on Tuesday evening before the Wednesday deadline. In the northeastern province of Badakhshan, employees reported that a verbal decree was read aloud ordering an immediate halt to smartphone use in all government offices. In the western province of Herat, some workers said informal bans had already been in place for months, with phones confiscated and smashed after staff failed to comply. As of Wednesday afternoon, however, several central government departments were still communicating through WhatsApp groups.

The Taliban appear to be motivated by multiple concerns. Officials have expressed worry that employees are distracted by their phones and not working, a productivity concern common to many workplaces worldwide. More distinctively, the Taliban have also cited the risk of internal leaks — officials have allegedly been photographing sensitive documents and recording meetings on their smartphones, allowing information to reach the public before the supreme leader formally approves it. The protests that erupted in Herat after Taliban forces detained women for "improper hijab" — and in which at least two people were killed — may have sharpened those concerns, as videos of the crackdown spread rapidly online despite initial denials by authorities.

The ban has already disrupted daily operations. Workers in Badakhshan described relying on smartphones to track cargo shipments, communicate with students, and use AI translation tools to convert between Dari and Pashto — the language of official government correspondence. "Now, with this ban, our work can be disrupted and can even be made impossible," said one transport department employee. A teacher whose phone was confiscated called the decision "truly heartbreaking."

Analysts warn the directive may be a prelude to wider restrictions. The Taliban have been steadily tightening their control over digital access: last year, broadband was restricted in several provinces for weeks, and authorities briefly cut off the entire national internet and phone network — a two-day blackout that paralysed banks, grounded flights and caused chaos at hospitals before being reversed. Whether the current smartphone ban will remain limited to government staff or expand to the broader population remains unclear, but observers note that previous measures have often started narrowly before widening in scope.