Authorities in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar on Sunday ordered soldiers and officers not to take photos or videos showing “living creatures.”
In a letter to civil and military officials, the provincial home ministry asked them to “avoid taking photographs of the creatures during formal and informal gatherings” as it does more harm than good.
On the other hand, text and audio content reporting on the activities of these managers is approved. Depictions of humans and animals are generally absent in Islamic art, but for some Muslims, the depiction of animals should be completely prohibited. The Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, practice a more severe version of Islam.
A spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province told AFP that the letter was genuine. At this stage, it is not known how far the application of these instructions will go and how Taliban officials in the province intend to implement them. Taliban government spokesmen have yet to respond to requests for comment on the letter. Television and photographs of the creatures were banned from 1996 to 2001 under the previous Taliban regime.
Since the Taliban's return to power, many media outlets have avoided publishing photos of people and animals. However, central government ministries often distribute and broadcast photographs of senior officials during meetings with foreign officials.
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