Afghanistan plans to gradually ban the internet to “fight against sins”

The Taliban has banned the use of fiber-optic internet and plans to gradually ban the internet to “fight against sins”, Tasnim News reports.

A representative of the Balkh governor said that on the instructions of the Taliban leader, the use of fiber-optic internet in this province is prohibited. He noted that from now on, there will be no internet access. This decision was made to prevent “sins”.

Six ministers from the Taliban government cabinet traveled to Kandahar to assess the consequences of the “Afghan Telecom” internet shutdown. This affected the work of passport services and customs. It is reported that there is a possibility that the outage will spread to other provinces as well.

Afghan journalist Bilal Sarvari wrote that the Taliban had not yet made a final decision regarding the fate of the internet in Afghanistan. In Mazar-i-Sharif, a conflict arose between the wali and the Taliban’s Minister of Communications. Vali, who was close to the office in Kandahar, resolved the matter in his own way.

The disconnection of the internet was previously discussed at the Taliban’s high level, and despite its recognition of safety benefits, there are opponents in Kabul. It is reported that internet restrictions, such as banning live broadcasts, will likely be introduced gradually.

As a reminder, women in Afghanistan were prohibited from going to work without a male companion. In some cases, a man is required to be personally present at the office throughout the day. Women were required to have a “mahram card” — a special document confirming the presence of a male escort.