Reuters, KABUL, September 25 – An interior ministry spokesman told Reuters that the Taliban are developing a large-scale camera surveillance network for Afghan cities that may involve adapting an American plan before their 2021 withdrawal. This development comes as authorities work to supplement the thousands of cameras already positioned throughout the capital, Kabul.
The Taliban government, which has stated publicly that it is primarily concerned with reestablishing security and suppressing Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for numerous significant attacks in Afghan towns, has also spoken with Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer Huawei about possible collaboration, the spokesman added.
Taliban considers implementing US mass surveillance plan and spoke with Huawei
According to readouts from such sessions, the Taliban’s contact with several other countries, including the U.S. and China, is centered on preventing assaults by international militant groups, especially well-known organizations like Islamic State. However, some observers doubt the regime’s ability to pay for the initiative, and rights groups are worried that any funding will be used to repress demonstrators.
There have been no prior reports on the specifics of how the Taliban seek to increase and handle mass monitoring, including acquiring the U.S. plan.
According to Ministry of Interior spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani, the mass camera rollout, which will concentrate on “important points” in Kabul and other locations, is a component of a new security policy that will take four years to completely implement.
We are currently working on a security map of Kabul, which is taking a long time and the help of security professionals, he said. We already have two maps, one created by the United States for the previous administration and the other for Turkey.
He made no mention of the creation date of the Turkish proposal.
Speaking on behalf of the State Department, the United States claimed that it was not “partnering” with the Taliban and that it had “made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists.”
Requests for comment from a representative of the Turkish government were not answered.
Qani claimed that in August, the Taliban and Huawei [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] had a “simple chat” regarding the potential network, but no agreements or concrete plans had been made.
According to a source familiar with the conversations, Bloomberg News reported in August that Huawei had reached “verbal agreement” with the Taliban regarding a deal to set up a surveillance system.
In September, Huawei informed Reuters that “no plan was discussed” at the meeting.
However, she said, “China has always supported the peace and reconstruction process in Afghanistan and supported Chinese enterprises to carry out relevant practical cooperation.” A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said she was not aware of any specific negotiations.
