Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered a nationwide Internet shutdown, Afghanistan International (AI) reported, citing sources.
The decision to ban fiber-optic Internet and Wi-Fi nationwide is final and cannot be reversed.
The media outlet also notes that as of September 17, Internet access was unavailable in 10 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Negotiations between a government delegation that arrived from Kabul to meet with the Supreme Leader in Kandahar ended inconclusively.
Hibatullah Akhundzada is reported to have ordered the creation of a new company to provide Internet access exclusively to government agencies and diplomatic missions.
The ban was reportedly imposed to «prevent immorality.»
This is the first such ban since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Government offices, the private sector, government agencies and residential buildings in the northern province of Balkh have already been left without Wi-Fi, although mobile Internet continues to work.
