Government employees across Afghanistan began powering down their smartphones on Wednesday following an order attributed to Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
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Workers have warned the move could cripple basic administrative functions.
A letter bearing the Supreme Court’s emblem, which circulated on social media last week, directed all department heads to notify staff, regardless of rank, that smartphone use was “strictly banned” from June 17.
Exemptions could only be authorised by the Supreme Leader himself.
In Ghazni province, employees began logging off Tuesday evening. Irfan Andarh, an official at the mines and petroleum department, notified colleagues via WhatsApp that smartphones were prohibited inside all offices and that staff would henceforth be reachable only by telephone or email.
A municipal worker in Ghazni, speaking anonymously to AFP over security concerns, said violators faced dismissal and legal proceedings.
In the northeastern province of Badakhshan, an information department employee said the penalty was six months in prison. He described a verbal decree being read out to all department heads ordering that no government worker use a smartphone from Wednesday onward.
Three Badakhshan officials said the ban would seriously impede their work. A transport department employee said he had relied on WhatsApp to track cargo movement. “Now, with this ban, our work can be disrupted and can even be made impossible,” he said.
A teacher, whose phone was confiscated before being returned with a warning, called the order “truly heartbreaking,” saying smartphones were essential for staying connected with students.
An education department staffer said he had used AI tools on his phone to translate between Dari and Pashto for government correspondence. “Now I don’t know what will happen,” he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, several central government departments were still operating WhatsApp groups, and the full scope of enforcement remained unclear.
The Taliban, who have governed for nearly five years under a strict interpretation of Islamic law, have previously disrupted digital access.
Last year, a nationwide internet and phone blackout lasted two days, halting banking, grounding flights and causing chaos in hospitals before services were restored.
