The Taliban’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced that 18 million SIM cards have been “legally” registered across Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesperson for the ministry, Inayatullah Alokozai, stated that a total of 26 million SIM cards are currently active in the country, but 8 million remain unregistered. He said efforts to register the remaining SIM cards are ongoing and are being closely monitored by authorities.
Meanwhile, some Afghan citizens have expressed frustration, saying they had already registered their SIM cards in the past, but after the Taliban took power, telecom companies were ordered to re-register all users.
“The process has caused confusion and inconvenience,” one resident said. “We are forced to stand in long lines outside telecom companies just to re-register our SIM cards.”
The Taliban have not provided an explanation for the mass re-registration, but analysts say it could be part of broader efforts to increase surveillance and control over telecommunications in the country.
