The Fifth Floor: Inside the Taliban's surveillance network

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There are over 90,000 hi-definition CCTV cameras in Kabul, watching everyone’s movements. What are the Taliban using this footage for? BBC Afghan Services' journalist Mahjooba Nowrouzi was granted exclusive access into the country’s top security control room. Plus, BBC Mundo's William Márquez on the history of Charles Darwin's house, and Mayuresh Gopal reports for BBC Marathi on the geological and historical relevance of India's Lonar Crater Lake.

Presented by Faranak Amidi Produced by Alice Gioia, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:07.7	This is the fifth floor.
0:11.5	The fifth floor, you knowsson.
0:15.6	This is the fifth floor at Farnak Amidi Sobeth. This is the fifth floor at the heart of global storytelling with BBC journalists from all around the world.
0:28.9	I'm your host, Faranak Amidi.
0:35.8	Right now, over 90,000 high-definition CCTV cameras are switched on in the center of Kabul.
0:43.5	They are watching everyone's movements.
0:47.3	BBC Afghan Services journalist Mahjuba Nozzi was recently granted exclusive access to the Taliban's surveillance network control room.
0:56.8	In this clip, Mahjuba is talking to a police spokesman. In this clip, Mahjuba is talking to a police spokesman.
1:08.0	He's explaining that if you zoom in, you can see lots of details, including people's
1:13.4	faces and number plates. What are the Taliban using this Serbian lens footage for? Mahjuba is here
1:24.2	with us to tell us more. Welcome to the program, Mahjuba. It's great to have you on the fifth floor.
1:28.9	Thank you so much for having me. So tell me more about these CCTV cameras. How long have they been used?
1:36.2	Well, CCTV cameras were in use even before the Taliban took over. But far from this level, a former police official told me that there were only about 850 cameras across Kabul.
1:52.9	And now, according to the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, there are more than 90,000 cameras installed throughout the city.
2:03.9	So, Machuba, you're the first international journalist to be allowed in this huge control room,
2:12.2	which is run by the Taliban police.
2:14.8	When you went there, what did you see, describe the atmosphere and the scene
2:19.5	there for us? Well, I walked through a long and dark underground corridor with several
2:27.6	Taliban officials and walked into a packed control center. It was surrounded by dozens of TV screens where the
2:37.9	Taliban's police force was eager to show off their network of CCTV cameras. These cameras
2:46.3	keep a close watch on the daily lives of millions of people in Kabul. One screen caught my
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.