Taliban Surveillance Network Unveiled in Kabul
On February 27, 2025, at 5:25 AM PST, the Taliban showcased its Taliban surveillance network—90,000 CCTV cameras tracking Kabul’s 6 million residents from a bustling control center. “We monitor the entire city,” police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told the BBC, the first international outlet inside, pointing to screens alive with facial recognition dissecting age, gender, and beards. Touted as a crime-buster—down 30% from 2023-2024, per unverified interior ministry claims—critics like Amnesty’s Elaine Pearson fear it’s a dissent-crusher, enforcing the Taliban’s harsh Sharia code, especially on women, amid a humanitarian crisis gripping 30 million Afghans, per UN data.
From zooming into traffic junctions kilometers away to spotting “suspicious” drug users for swift police raids, Zadran boasts precision—license plates, expressions, even Taliban checkpoint trunks under watch. Pre-2021, Kabul’s 850 cameras paled next to today’s sprawl, a tech leap since toppling the prior regime promising safety after Islamic State bombings and kidnappings. Yet, three years of draconian curbs—women muted outside, barred from education past teens, and jobless—cast a shadow. Fariba*, a jobless Kabul grad, told BBC, “They’ll track our hijabs,” fearing for ex-military and activists hiding from the Taliban’s gaze.
Taliban Surveillance Network: Rights vs. Control
Taliban surveillance network—Dahua-branded, Chinese-made—lacks data laws, HRW warns, risking abuse; data’s kept three months, police claim. Shella* paid thousands of afghanis for cameras—$68 monthly for some—or faced utility cuts. For more, visit BBC or Kenkou Land.
Main Body: Eyes Everywhere, Rights Nowhere
Today, February 27, 2025, at 5:25 AM PST, the Taliban surveillance network’s 90,000 cameras—up from 850 pre-2021—blanket Kabul, a “safety” flex doubling as control, per Zadran’s BBC tour. Facial recognition tags millions—6 million under lenses; ministry says crime’s down 30%, unverifiable sans data. Post-2021, women’s rights crashed—education banned, jobs slashed—yet cameras hum, Chinese Dahua kit zooming kilometers, per X posts. Zadran’s “swift investigation” claim—drug busts, crowd checks—meets Pearson’s “draconian” alarm: no dissent safe, women’s veils policed.
Shella* forked over afghanis—thousands, not hundreds, she says contra Zadran—for cameras or risked cuts; Jaber, a veggie seller, fumes, “We’re trash, powerless.” HRW flags no data safeguards—three-month retention’s a hollow promise. UN’s 30 million aid plea underscores Kabul’s broke economy; $54 monthly wages can’t bear this. At 5:25 AM PST, Taliban’s “voluntary” line—Zadran’s dodge—crumbles against Shella’s loans and Jaber’s despair. Will 90,000 eyes choke freedom or crime? Rights groups cry foul—Kabul’s watched, but not saved.
