Date: 18/10/1403

Local sources in Daikundi Province report that the Taliban have warned photographers that they are only permitted to take photographs of individuals for identity cards and passports. Sources told Hasht-e Subh on Tuesday, January 8, that officers from the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice instructed photographers to refrain from taking what they described as “unnecessary” photographs of the public.

According to the sources, photographers who take photos of individuals without a request for ID or passport purposes will be punished. Local Taliban officials in Daikundi also prohibit journalists from taking photographs during official meetings. The ban on photography and filming has been formally incorporated into the Taliban’s Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

The restriction imposed by the Taliban on photography in Daikundi represents the expansion of moral policing into visual documentation, media practice, and everyday expression. By criminalizing “unnecessary” photography and threatening punishment, the Taliban suppress independent documentation of public life and reinforce information control. This measure contributes to the systematic erasure of visual evidence and restricts both journalistic activity and personal expression.