The Taliban have denied imposing a national internet prohibition, claiming that the blackout consumed by Afghanistan was due to the old fiber optic cables that were now being replaced.
Wednesday’s announcement was the first public statement of the Talibanes since a communications blackout arrived in the country of more than 40 million people, interrupting everything from banking to travel and companies and helping work.
The Urdu de los Taliban language website, Al-Emarah, quoted spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying that some people were disseminating rumors about a ban on Internet access in the country, which according to him were not true.
However, a Senior Taliban leader in Kabul told NBC News: “We do not understand what is happening in the country. Nobody tells us that most people do not have access to each other.”
It occurs after several provinces said last month that they would close the Internet after an order from the government to represent immorality, feeding fears on the new limits in access to the outside world.
Internet Watchdog Netblocks said Monday that an interruption close to telecommunications nationwide was in force. Less than two hours later, he announced that Afghanistan was “now in the middle of a total internet blackout.”
The United Nations urged the Taliban authorities “to restore immediately and completely at the national level of Internet access and telecommunications”, in a statement on Tuesday.
The closure has left millions of people from Afghanistan who now live outside the distressed country, and many cannot contact their loved ones. Flights outside the country have also been canceled, which adds to the sensation of chaos and isolation.
Indiana’s resident, Sofia Ramyar, 33, is one of them.
Ramyar says he has not been able to contact his family, some of which live in the capital Kabul.
“The blackout has created a deep sense of isolation and has silenced those who are already fighting to be heard,” Ramyar told NBC News. “This blackout has completely cut the country of the digital world in a way we had never seen before.”
Ramyar serves as an advisor to Afghan for progressive thought (APT), a non -profit organization led by youth that focuses on advancing the rights of women and educational opportunities for girls. He added that the blackout has impacted its ability to serve these women, and added that their work “depends largely” in online access and that the situation in Afghanistan remains “unpredictable.”
“His security is always a concern,” he added.
Naseer Kawoshger, 29, who left Afghanistan in 2020 and now works as a cashier in a groceries in Chicago, said he has not been able to talk to his family in Kabul either.
“When I sent a message to my sister, my brother, there was only one ICT and I saw that the message was not being sent,” Kawoshger said. “I don’t know what happened to my country, what happened to my family.”
Aid officials warned that the blackout was hindering its operations in the country, which has been mistreated by a series of economic and humanitarian crises since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 when the United States withdrew.
The hard -line Islamist regime has faced global criticism for their treatment of women, but has recently sought better ties with Washington.
“Reliable communications are essential for our ability to operate, provide assistance to save lives and coordinate with the partners,” said Save the Children in a statement on Wednesday.
