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| - Fact Check: Video of contraband destruction in Pakistan shared as Taliban smashing phones of Afghans
A video has been doing the rounds on social media showing armed forces dumping and stamping on a large number of smart phones and tablets. Netizens are sharing the video with the claim that the Taliban has banned cell phones in Afghanistan and this is how they are destroying the mobile phones of the public.
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India Today Fact Check
The video shows customs officials in Pakistan destroying smuggled and contraband goods. However, there have been reports of the Taliban banning mobile phones in some parts of Afghanistan.
The Taliban rule in Afghanistan has been marked not only by severe curbs on women and minority rights, but even on dressing habits and lifestyle, including the use of mobile phones and listening to music. Several videos of alleged Taliban atrocities have found their way on the Internet time and again.
One video doing the rounds on social media lately shows armed forces dumping and stamping on a large number of smart phones and tablets. Netizens are sharing the video with the claim that the Taliban has banned cell phones in Afghanistan and this is how they are destroying the mobile phones of the public.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The video shows authorities in Pakistan destroying smuggled and contraband goods.
AFWA probe
Upon closely observing the video in question, we found a Pakistan flag on the uniform of the officers.
This gave us a clue that the video could be from Pakistan. We reached out to Rai Shahnawaz, a Pakistan-based journalist from “Urdu News”. Speaking to AFWA, Shahnawaz said the video shows destruction of smuggled goods by customs officials in Karachi. He said such destruction of smuggled items, including narcotics, alcohol and mobile phones, is not a new practice and it has been continuing for years.
Using Urdu and English keywords, we then searched on Facebook and YouTube and found similar videos (shared in December 2021 by multiple users and local media outlets from Pakistan.
In these videos, we can see customs officials and people gathered at the event breaking seized liquor bottles and putting them on fire. A steam roller can also be seen crushing the goods.
A comparison of the viral video with other clippings from the event also confirms that the badge on the left arm of the officers seen in the viral video belongs to Pakistan Customs.
Multiple media outlets have also reported this event.
According to a report by “The Express Tribune”, smuggled and contraband items worth Rs.2.5 billion were destroyed at the event held by the Collectorate of Customs (Enforcement) in Karachi on December 29, 2021. As per reports, there were 39,470 mobile phones among the goods destroyed at the event.
Speaking to “VICE World News”, assistant director of Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force Mohammad Samiullah said, “We have a ceremony every year in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar, and giant ceremonies in Quetta and Karachi. Whenever we have a considerable quantity of narcotics and alcohol, we have them destroyed.”
We also found multiple media reports confirming that such destruction of smuggled items were held in Pakistan even previously.
Hence, it is clear that though there have been reports of the Taliban banning mobile phones in several provinces of Afghanistan, this particular video is of Pakistan customs officials destroying smuggled goods.
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