The Ministry of Interior said that the security cameras installed in Kabul and some highways across the country have facial-recognition capabilities.

The spokesman for the MoI, Abdul Matin Qani, said that many criminals have been detained through the use of these cameras.

“Some of the security cameras have high capabilities of facial recognition. We have good achievement in this regard in capturing criminals quickly and providing security in the city,” he said.

He also stressed that there have been no contracts with any country regarding the cameras and that efforts are underway to make contracts for camera operations with domestic companies.

“The security survey has not been conducted by the analysts yet. After the survey is conducted and the budget is formed, we will then make contracts and will give opportunities to domestic companies,” he said.

This comes as earlier the China Project, a New York-based, China-focused news, information, and business services platform reported:

“An August 2023 agreement between the Taliban and Huawei, China’s giant telecommunications and surveillance technology company, could soon see the rollout of cameras equipped with facial-recognition capabilities in every province of Afghanistan."

The analysts believe that installation of cameras is important to improve security, but it cannot prevent security incidents.

“It [cameras] doesn’t have any role in the prevention of incidents but to recognize the criminal or detain them, it has an important role,” said Yousuf Amin Zazai, military analyst.

According to the MoI, approximately 65,000 cameras have been installed over the past two years.