Access to fiber optic internet has been cut in the eastern provinces of Laghman, Paktika and Nangarhar, local sources told Amu TV on Wednesday.
The move brings the total number of provinces under such restrictions to 13. Over the past two days, fiber optic services were disconnected in Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Nimroz and Herat.
Local Taliban officials in Kunduz confirmed earlier that the outages were ordered by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has framed the move as an effort to “prevent vice.” In Kunduz, Taliban forces also entered offices of private providers and confiscated equipment, according to residents.
The disruption has raised concerns among citizens, businesses and analysts, who warn that it could cripple banking, remittances and other online services. Some banks in Mazar-e-Sharif reported interruptions until the Taliban governor of Balkh allowed exemptions for financial institutions and key government offices.
Analysts say the restrictions are part of the Taliban’s wider campaign of limiting access to information and tightening surveillance. Sources in Kandahar told Amu that the Taliban have ordered telecom operators to guarantee intelligence services access to users’ calls and data.
Fiber optic internet, introduced in Afghanistan in 2007, has provided faster, cheaper and more secure connections for millions of users, playing a central role in banking and online services. According to Taliban telecom officials, about 13 million Afghans currently use the internet, with nearly 4 million on social media.
Critics have likened the Taliban’s restrictions to isolating Afghanistan in the model of North Korea, further depriving women and girls of online learning opportunities after the closure of schools and universities.
