The Taliban has banned fiber optic internet in northern Balkh province, cutting off homes, businesses, and government offices from Wi-Fi to “prevent immorality,” a provincial spokesman said Tuesday.
Spokesman Haji Attaullah Zaid said the order came directly from the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
He added that a domestic alternative would be developed but gave no details on timing or scope.
Authorities in Afghanistan have previously temporarily suspended mobile networks during religious events to prevent bomb attacks, but a permanent ban on fiber-optic access marks a new step in restricting communications.
Without Wi-Fi, residents can only use mobile data.
One resident in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, described mobile data as slow and costly, unsuitable for his business with clients abroad.
“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,” he told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. “I might have to move from Mazar-e-Sharif to another province because I cannot afford the loss.”
Local news outlet Afghanistan International reports that the fiber-optic internet ban is expected to be implemented nationwide. As of now, the restrictions are already in effect in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand, and Nimroz, with disruptions reported in Baghlan, Ghazni, Parwan, and Herat.
Previous Taliban policies have drawn widespread international criticism for imposing severe restrictions on human rights, especially for women and girls.
These included banning girls from attending school, restricting women from working outside the home, enforcing strict dress codes, and curbing freedom of speech and the press.
