The Taliban has banned an Afghanistan province from using fibre optic internet to “prevent immorality”.
Government offices, the private sector, public institutions, and homes across the northern Balkh province are now disconnected from Wi-Fi internet after the ban, although mobile internet was still functional as of Tuesday.
Haji Attaullah Zaid, a provincial Taliban government spokesman, said the “complete ban” of cable internet was ordered by Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Mr Zaid added that the measure “was taken to prevent immorality, and an alternative will be built within the country for necessities”.
It’s unclear why Balkh province was chosen for the ban, or if the shutdown would spread to other provinces.
Local news outlet, Afghanistan International, reports that the fibre optic internet ban will be nationwide and is already in effect in the Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand and Nimroz provinces.
Disruption has also been reported in the Baghlan, Ghazni, Parwan and Herat provinces.
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A source told the website: “The order from the Taliban leader is irreversible and will be enforced nationwide.”
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One Balkh resident told the Associated Press that “blocking the internet is beyond my comprehension in such an advanced era,” adding that mobile internet can be slow and expensive.
He said: “If this ban continues, it will not only be detrimental to my business but also to others because all our business is done on the internet.
“We do business with people in the outside world and maintain relationships through it. I might have to move from Mazar-e-Sharif (the capital of Balkh) to another province because I cannot afford the loss.”
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It marks the first such ban since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US and Western troops in 2021.
Afghan authorities have sometimes suspended the mobile phone network for security reasons, usually during religious festivals, to prevent the detonation of explosive devices.
