The Taliban officially denied reports about a complete shutdown of internet services in Afghanistan. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to Al Jazeera, the Taliban explained these outages as temporary technical issues related to replacing outdated fiber-optic cables. The official statement emphasized that claims about banning the internet are unfounded.
At the same time, the international network monitoring organization Netblocks recorded a total internet blackout in the country with a population of 43 million on September 29. During this period, there were also problems with telephone communication.
The Taliban had previously restricted internet services in some provinces to combat moral corruption. For example, fiber-optic internet was completely stopped in Balkh province, and similar restrictions were imposed in Badakhshan, Takhar, Helmand, Kandahar, and Nangarhar provinces.
According to TOLOnews channel, the Taliban ordered the suspension of 3G and 4G services on mobile devices within a week. Local sources reported that more than 8,000 communication towers were temporarily turned off.
The internet outage negatively affected not only personal communication but also aviation, banking systems, and trade activities. This event occurred a few weeks after a strong earthquake in the eastern part of the country that killed more than two thousand people.
On October 1, internet and communication services were restored in Afghanistan. This situation is of great importance for ensuring the stability of the communication system within the country.
