Taliban deploys 90,000 AI cameras for mass surveillance in Kabul
The Taliban has deployed approximately 90,000 AI-enabled CCTV cameras throughout Kabul to monitor the city's 6 million residents, with facial recognition and license plate tracking capabilities. While authorities claim the system aims to reduce crime, human rights organizations and the UN warn it could be used to enforce strict moral codes and violate fundamental rights, particularly affecting women and civil society groups.
What happened
The Taliban has deployed approximately 90,000 CCTV cameras throughout Kabul to monitor the city's estimated 6 million residents. The system includes facial recognition technology capable of tracking license plates, analyzing facial expressions, and categorizing individuals by age, gender, and whether they have a beard or mask.
Taliban officials claim the surveillance system aims to reduce crime, but human rights organizations warn it could be used to enforce strict moral codes under Sharia law. Beyond CCTV monitoring, the Taliban has expanded surveillance to include mobile phone data collection at checkpoints, where fighters demand access to travelers' phones and use data recovery software to copy smartphone data.
The UN Special Rapporteur's report indicates that public spaces, homes, and personal interactions are monitored, eroding the distinction between private and public life. Residents report being forced to fund the surveillance network, with threats of water and power cuts for families who refuse to pay for cameras installed near their homes.
Reported impact
Afghan citizens must navigate daily life under constant observation, creating an atmosphere of anxiety among the population. Afghan women fear the surveillance system will be used to monitor their hijabs, while human rights activists worry it could endanger their safety.
Non-compliance with Taliban regulations can result in severe consequences including public shaming, imprisonment, or physical violence, according to the UN report. The comprehensive monitoring system represents a modern evolution of the Taliban's historical control measures.
Index analysis
Amnesty International has raised concerns that installing cameras under the guise of 'national security' sets a template for the Taliban to continue their draconian policies that violate fundamental rights of people in Afghanistan, especially women in public spaces. The facial recognition capabilities allow the system to identify individuals at distances of kilometres away on clear days.
Governance controls
The Taliban insists that surveillance is handled solely by city police, not the morality police—the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that phone checks are conducted only on suspected individuals, though documented evidence suggests more widespread implementation of these surveillance tactics.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.