In Afghanistan, Afghanistan reported a “general shutdown of the Internet” in Afghanistan, saying that the connection is gradually falling from the evening of Monday and now amounted to less than 1% of the normal level in the country where access is already limited. The group said that mobile failures are associated with dependence on the same Internet that was cut out.
The Afghan broadcaster Tolonevs warned the audience about possible shutdowns and said that the Taliban allow only 2G networks to work, while 3G and 4G more advanced services remain dissatisfied. Cloudflare Radar, another monitoring service, said that the violation was the most serious in Kabul, Herat and Kandagar.
The Afghans abroad also voiced the alarm, saying that they could not contact family members. “Since yesterday, we had no one,” said CNN Mohammad Hadi, a 30-year-old Afghan resident living in India. “There is no way to say, there is no way to find out, they are safe.”
Earlier this month, the leader of the Taliban Hibatulla Akhunzad ordered limited shutdown in several provinces. The disconnection on Tuesday marked the first national Internet from the moment the group returned to power. AFP said that shortly before disconnecting, the Taliban official warned his Bureau Kabul that from 8,000 to 9,000 communication objects would be disconnected “to further notice”.
The official recognized serious economic consequences, saying that banking services would also be affected, but insisted that the step was necessary. According to AFP, Ahundzada ignored warnings from his officials about potential consequences.
The Taliban previously managed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 before he was expelled by the coalition led by the United States after the September 11th terrorist attacks, which were conducted by al-Qaeda, while he had a sanctuary in Afghanistan. After two decades of the war, foreign troops left in 2021 in accordance with an agreement signed by US President Donald Trump during his first term, and the Taliban quickly captured Kabul, curling up the government supported by the West.
Since returning to power, the Taliban has restored sharp restrictions, especially for women. Girls are prohibited from school after 6 years, women cannot travel long distances without a guardian of men, and most jobs are closed to them. Women are allowed to affect only their father, brother, husband or son – and vice versa.
It is expected that the shutdown of the Internet will hit women especially strongly. Many turned to online education as the last chance to learn after they covered bans on school education. “Our last hope was online education, and now even this dream was destroyed,” said the Afghan student who uses the pseudonym Fahima Nuri BBC.
Cabirie’s sanam, an activist in the protection of women's rights, based outside Afghanistan, condemned this step. “Taliban use every possible tool to oppress our people,” she said. “What else do these ignorant people from another century want from our already suffering nation?”
