Internet blackout hits Afghanistan as Taliban enforce morality crackdown

This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo)

ISLAMABAD — An internet blackout hit Afghanistan on Monday, with local media reporting a potential nationwide cut of fiber-optic services as part of a Taliban crackdown on immorality.

It’s the first time Afghanistan has experienced a shutdown of this kind since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Earlier this month, several provinces lost their fiber-optic connections after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree banning the service to prevent immorality.

On Monday, internet-access advocacy group Netblocks said that live metrics showed connectivity in Afghanistan had “collapsed” to 14% of ordinary levels, with a near-total nationwide telecoms disruption in effect.

“The incident is likely to severely limit the public’s ability to contact the outside world,” the group added.

The Associated Press was unable to contact its Kabul bureau, as well as journalists in the eastern and southern provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand. There was no confirmation of the blackout from the Taliban government, which relies heavily on messaging apps and social media for its external and internal communications.

The private TOLO News TV channel said sources had confirmed that fiber-optic internet could be cut all over the country starting Monday.