Afghanistan’s cellphone, internet services down after Taliban ordered cut, say sources

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Diplomatic and industry sources said on Tuesday that the Taliban have ordered the internet and mobile phone data services to be cut into Afghanistan, while residents and surveillance services have not reported any connection to flights and financial services.

The Taliban administration did not immediately provide any explanation about the closure and could not be commented on. The United Nations has called on officials to completely restore links.

In the past, the Taliban have expressed concern over online pornography, and authorities have cut fiber optic links from some provinces in recent weeks, and officials have cited ethics concerns.

The UN said in a statement, “Access deduction has completely disconnected Afghanistan from the outside world, and there is a danger of significant harm to the Afghan people.”

Afghanistan is suffering from the return of millions of refugees from neighboring countries, and drought in the north as a result of an earthquake in the east of the country.

Taliban

An Afghan cell phone services provider, who did not want to designate, said he was working with other providers “to handle this sensitive and complicated situation.”

The company said, “We are following the instructions of the authorities and we hope that all Telcos in the country will be given the option to restore services as soon as possible.”

Net Black, an international internet access organization, said Internet contacts in Afghanistan were flatting around 1 % mark.

Net Blocks told Reuters in an email, with the final phase affecting telephone services was contacted in the stages on Monday, which shares infrastructure with the Internet.

Private channel Tolo News, which warned viewers about disrupting their services, said authorities have set a one -week deadline for the closure of 3G and 4G Internet services for cell phones, which has left only the old standard of 2G.

The channel also reported the barrier to private banks and the central bank, while Kabul’s currency market is working at tomorrow’s exchange rates.

“We can’t chat”

Shabbir, who only gave his first name, said that his job in a private internet service provider has been suspended.

“Today, people rely on technology, this is the basic way to stay connected with the outside world,” he said. “No one knows about the condition of his relatives, and even inside Afghanistan, we can’t talk.”

Arafat Jamal, a UN refugee agency’s country representative, told reporters via satellite link from Kabul that he could no longer reach his frontline aid workers, including those who support the earthquake.

“This is another crisis in the upper part of the current crisis,” he said. It is utter unnecessary to such interference, and it has an impact on the lives of Afghan people, “he said, adding that he is looking for a blackout exemption from the authorities.

The rigor ordered by the Taliban -based Taliban -based Taliban has increased sharply.

This month, authorities prevented women working for the United Nations from entering their offices. Earlier, women were banned from going to high school lines and girls.

Women’s rights activist Sanam Kabiri said the Taliban have already stopped schools, universities, entertainment and sports facilities for women.

“The Taliban use every tool to suppress people,” Kabiri told reporters in a video posting outside Afghanistan.

“What else do these ignorant men of another century want our oppressed people?”

Women had to face curbs when they left their homes at work, which turned to the Internet for the economic lifeline, which allowed some people to work home.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have engaged with US officials, especially about US citizens detained in Afghanistan, one of whom released on Sunday.