The Taliban shut down mobile phone and internet services in Afghanistan this week. The United Nations has warned that the Taliban’s actions could cause “significant harm” to the people of Afghanistan.
Anonymous diplomatic and industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the Taliban ordered cuts to internet and mobile phone data services throughout Afghanistan on Monday. The outlet noted that the Taliban’s order has resulted in the termination of telecommunication connectivity and disruptions to financial services and flights in the country.
Fox News reported that the order comes after the Taliban recently disabled the country’s fiber optic network amid morality concerns with regard to the use of the internet.
NetBlocks, an internet transparency and access monitoring group, told Reuters that internet connectivity in Afghanistan dropped to one percent after the Taliban cut internet connectivity in multiple phases on Monday. The internet monitoring group noted that the final connectivity reduction phase affected telephone services across the country.
Additionally, Reuters reported that Tolo News, a private broadcaster, warned that Taliban officials imposed a one-week deadline to cut 3G and 4G internet services for cellular phones and that only 2G service would remain active for users.
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An anonymous cellular phone service provider told Reuters that service providers are trying to manage the “sensitive and complex situation.”
“We are following directives from the authorities and we hope that all telcos in the country will be authorized to recommence services as soon as possible,” the cellular service provider stated.
In response to the Taliban’s decision to terminate internet and telecommunications services, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan issued a press release on Tuesday, urging Taliban authorities to “immediately and fully restore nationwide Internet and telecommunications access” in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan warned, “The cut in access has left Afghanistan almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people, including by threatening economic stability and exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”
“Such a ban has immediate and far-reaching consequences, including severely impacting the functioning of critical banking and financial systems, further increasing the isolation of women and girls, limiting access to emergency services and medical care, disrupting the aviation sector, and limiting access to remittances for dependent families,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan added. “The current blackout also constitutes a further restriction on access to information and freedom of expression in Afghanistan.”
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