On Monday, Afghanistan witnessed an almost complete interruption of the Internet, amid local media reports stating that this is linked to cutting optical fiber services at the country, as part of a new campaign by the Taliban, according to what it describes as “aspects of moral decay.” This is the first interruption of its kind since the movement took power in August 2021.
Previous decisions paved the interruption
Several Afghan provinces had lost optical fiber services earlier this month, after the Taliban leader, Heba Allah Akhundzadeh, issued a decree prohibiting this service under the pretext of preventing unethical practices online.
A major collapse in the level of communication
For its part, the Net Organization for the monitoring of freedom of access to the Internet stated that living data showed the decline in communication in Afghanistan to only 14% of the usual rates, noting that the interruption is equivalent to almost paralysis in telecommunications and Internet services at the national level. She emphasized that this situation “is likely to be strongly limited to the ability of citizens to communicate with the outside world.”
Difficulties in front of the media
The Associated Press reported that she was unable to communicate with her office in Kabul, nor with her correspondents in the provinces of Ningerhar, Hilmand East and South the country, which reflects the depth of interruption and its impact on media institutions.
The absence of an official confirmation
Until Tuesday morning, the Taliban government has not issued any official confirmation of the interruption, although the movement relies heavily on messaging applications and social media platforms in its internal and external contacts, which raises questions about the extent of this closure and its actual goals.
