"The country "is now in the midst of a total internet blackout," with networks disconnected "in a stepwise manner," according to a statement from NetBlocks, a watchdog group that monitors internet outages, which warned that telephone services had also been affected. The Washington Post attempted to contact over a dozen people across Afghanistan - including Taliban spokesmen and women's rights activists - but none of these messages could be delivered via digital messaging apps."
"The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan under their strict interpretation of Islamic religious law since its return to power in Kabul in 2021. The internet shutdown - the first of its scale since the Taliban's return to power - could be connected to a lingering competition between the reclusive Taliban leadership in Kandahar, which has increasingly asserted its power in recent years, and some of the regime's more pragmatic officials, who are tasked with running the country on a day-to-da"
Nationwide internet and telephone services in Afghanistan were cut in a stepwise manner, producing what NetBlocks described as a total internet blackout. Digital messaging apps failed to deliver messages to dozens across the country, including Taliban spokesmen and women's rights activists. Private broadcaster Tolo warned that broadcasts would face disruptions due to an imminent fiber-optic shutdown. A diplomatic official in Kabul said connectivity dropped suddenly at 5 p.m. local time and that the Taliban communicated the shutdown will remain "until further notice." A Pakistani official said Pakistan assumes the Taliban ordered the outage. The blackout may reflect competition between Kandahar leadership and pragmatic regime officials.
Read at The Washington Post
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