The Taliban regime ruling Afghanistan cut off the country’s internet access this week as the Islamist authorities vowed to crack down on “immoral activities.”
Cybersecurity and internet governance watchdog Netblocks announced Monday evening that internet links have been cut nationwide after several provinces lost their fiber-optic connections earlier this month when Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree banning the service to prevent “immorality.”
The country of 43 million people is experiencing a “total internet blackout as Taliban authorities move to implement morality measures,” Netblocks said.
Afghanistan’s main airport is at a standstill as the country grapples with the fallout of a nationwide internet shutdown, according to BBC News. The airport in the capital, Kabul, is “nearly deserted,” according to one resident, with no evidence of planes arriving or departing. The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, both international news agencies, revealed they had been unable to contact their bureaus in Kabul.
Residents living under the Islamist regime are expected to abide by a stringent “morality” code instituted by Sharia law. In terms of censoring internet activity, online behavior is heavily restricted. The Taliban has banned Afghan television channels from showing dramas that feature female actors, forbidden music and the depiction of people and animals on television in many provinces, and banned films promoting “foreign cultural values” with women.
Under the Islamist morality code, gay people and other members of the LGBT community face the death penalty. Those accused of committing adultery are stoned. Women have few rights, are restricted from going to school, and are prohibited from showing their faces outside their homes. Females who violate the strict hijab dress code face severe punishments, including imprisonment.
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The United States went to war against Afghanistan in 2001 when the Taliban regime provided safe harbor for the Al Qaeda terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks that toppled New York City’s World Trade Center towers.
After toppling Taliban leadership, U.S. military forces remained in the country for two decades before pulling out of Afghanistan in 2021 under the Biden administration. Amid the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban rapidly advanced across the country and took control of the capital, Kabul. The regime has been in power ever since.
