RASC News Agency: The Taliban have escalated their repressive measures in Takhar province, conducting house-to-house raids and forcibly confiscating the mobile phones of relatives of imprisoned individuals, particularly former military personnel of the previous Afghanistani government. According to credible local sources, most detainees in Takhar are former security personnel who have been arrested by the Taliban on various charges and are currently languishing in the group’s prisons. On Thursday, January 30, reports emerged that Taliban forces launched a series of raids on the homes of three detained former military officers in Nahr-e-Chaman, an area on the outskirts of Taluqan, the provincial capital of Takhar.
During these operations, Taliban militants forcibly seized the smartphones of the detainees’ family members. Eyewitnesses report that the Taliban did not even spare the phones of women related to the detainees, subjecting them to intimidation and coercion. Further details indicate that the confiscated phones were forcefully unlocked under duress, and none have been returned to their owners. A source disclosed that Taliban forces, in an apparent attempt to justify their actions, falsely claimed that the seizures were carried out at the request of the detainees themselves. Taliban officials in Takhar have yet to issue a statement regarding these troubling developments.
This latest crackdown is part of a broader pattern of digital surveillance and control imposed by the Taliban. In recent months, the group has confiscated mobile phones from residents in multiple districts of Takhar, and similar operations have been carried out in other provinces, including Panjshir, where numerous individuals have been arrested and imprisoned simply for possessing a smartphone. The Taliban justify these actions by alleging that smartphones are used to capture and disseminate photos and videos that undermine their rule. Ironically, the group had previously banned the use of smartphones among their own members, citing security concerns.
