Local sources in the Sang-e Takht and Bandar district of Daykundi province report that the Taliban have arrested the head of a girls’ high school after she refused to hand over her smartphone.
According to these sources, Taliban forces visited the “Markaz Bandar Girls’ High School” on Monday, 1 Saratan, as part of an operation to collect smartphones from teachers. During the process, the school principal, Tayyaba Hafezi, was detained after refusing to surrender her phone.
The sources added that the female education official remained in Taliban custody until the evening of the same day. Taliban authorities have not yet commented on the report.
Based on information from local sources, several teachers and female students were also reportedly beaten during the incident. It is further claimed that some Taliban members brandished weapons at second- and third-grade students, demanding they reveal where teachers’ mobile phones were being kept.
The Taliban had previously banned the use of smartphones for government employees and warned that staff found in possession of such devices could be referred to a military court.
The group has also instructed government employees to destroy their smartphones. Further details regarding the fate of those detained and the outcome of the incident have not yet been released.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
