Topic: Taliban Threatens Afghan Cellphone Companies

New York Times
February 26, 2008
Pg. 4
By Taimoor Shah
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban have demanded that all four cellphone companies in Afghanistan cease operating at night or face attacks on their offices and communication towers, according to a statement released to journalists on Monday.
The statement, issued by a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, complained that NATO and American forces in Afghanistan, which it called “occupying forces,” were tracking the whereabouts of militants through their mobile phones and conducting espionage through cellphones.
“It has caused heavy casualties to Taliban and sometimes to civilians,” the statement said.
United States counterterrorism forces have tracked insurgents and Taliban commanders in Afghanistan using satellite and cellphone signals, and have conducted airstrikes and raids based on such information. The Taliban have also often accused villagers of alerting counterterrorism forces of their movements.
The Taliban said they had already contacted the companies, but without result. Some companies said they were not able to stop foreign forces from tracing their signals, the statement said.
So the Taliban council decided to demand that all companies shut off their signals across Afghanistan from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., the statement said.
“If they do not heed it, the Taliban will target their offices, suboffices and tower stations,” it said. “The council has decided to give a three-day deadline to all mobile telephone companies to stop their signals in order to prevent the enemy obtaining intelligence though cellphones and to prevent Taliban and civilian casualties.”
The cellphone companies represent one of the most successful new industries in Afghanistan, where telephone communications were virtually nonexistent under the Taliban.