Video shows Pakistan officials destroying smuggled goods, not Afghan authorities destroying its citizens’ phones - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 19, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows Afghanistan authorities destroying the mobile phones of its citizens. Some users are also claiming that cell phones are banned in Afghanistan and the authorities confiscated all the phones. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Afghan authorities destroying the mobile phones of its citizens.
Fact: The video was not taken in Afghanistan. The uniformed personnel in the video are Pakistan Customs officials. The Pakistan flag and Pakistan Customs logo can be seen on the uniforms. The goods shown in the video are illegal contraband items seized by the officials. At regular intervals, the officials hold events and destroy the smuggled goods. While some news agencies reported about a few restrictions imposed by the Taliban on its people, there was no mention of any nation-wide ban on mobile phones. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On observing the uniform of the personnel in the video carefully, one can find the Pakistan flag on the uniform.
So, when we searched with related keywords, many similar videos (with the same blue container in the background) were found on the internet. Some of those videos can be watched here, here, here, and here. In the description of the videos, it is written that these videos show Pakistan Custom officials (logo can be seen on the uniform) destroying the illegal contraband items seized by them. At regular intervals, the officials hold events and destroy the smuggled goods. The video shows one of such ‘Pakistan Customs Destruction Ceremony’. News reports regarding such events can be read here and here.
When we searched about the total mobile ban in Afghanistan, no specific news reports were found. While some news agencies reported about a few restrictions imposed by the Taliban on its people, there was no mention of any nationwide ban on mobile phones.
To sum it up, the video is not related to any mobile ban in Afghanistan. The video shows Pakistan Customs officials destroying contraband goods.