According to reports, there are plans to gradually implement this law across the country. After assuming power in Afghanistan, Taliban started implementing strict Islamic laws.
Upon the announcement of the new law, Saiful Islam Khyber, spokesman for the Promotion of Virtue and Treatment Prevention (PVPV), said the law would be gradually implemented across Afghanistan.
What is This new law?
He said that under this law people will be told that photographs of living things are against Islamic law. Efforts will be made to persuade them to comply. However, Khyber stressed that there would be no room for coercion in the implementation of the law and it would be introduced only in a consultative manner.
In August, the country's Ministry of Vice and Virtue published laws governing aspects of daily life such as public transportation, shaving, media and ceremonies, reflecting authorities' interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. Article 17 prohibits the publication of images of living beings.
Helmand officials said that filming and photography of living creatures would be stopped immediately. He did not provide any further details on enforcement or exceptions.
Television, radio and newspapers are also banned
Last week, Taliban-run media outlets in Takhar, Maidan Wardak and Kandahar provinces stopped showing photos of the living creatures in violation of the law.
Some private channels are said to have even stopped showing pictures and videos of animals to ensure compliance.
No other Muslim-majority country, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, imposes such restrictions. During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban completely banned most television, radio, and newspapers.
Ban on 400 books also
On Thursday, the Information Ministry announced that it had banned 400 books that go against Islamic and Afghan values. Banned books have been collected from shops and publishing houses and replaced with religious texts including the Quran.
“Any book written in line with the nefarious plans of the enemies to destroy the ideas, beliefs, unity and culture of this country will be collected by the Ministry of Information and Culture,” ministry spokesperson Khubaib Ghofran wrote on Twitter.