Citizens: Taliban Have Paralyzed the Economic and Educational Life of the People by Cutting Fiber Optic Internet

Image: Associated Press

Following the controversial move by the Taliban to cut fiber optic internet services in several provinces, a wave of concern and dissatisfaction has spread among citizens.

The disruption of this vital service has not only created serious challenges for people’s economic and commercial activities, but has also paralyzed students’ and pupils’ education, online medical services, information dissemination, and other essential sectors of society.

One resident of Jalalabad, a province where internet services were completely cut off by the Taliban yesterday, told Zan News: “Our lives depend on the internet, from children’s education to business transactions and contacting relatives abroad. Now everything has stopped. This decision of the Taliban drives us into absolute backwardness.”

Nangarhar, known as one of the commercial hubs of eastern Afghanistan, is now facing the risk of local economic collapse. Traders, company owners, and transport drivers who rely on online communications and digital data exchange are complaining of massive losses.

At the same time, teachers and students warn that if this situation continues, the educational process, which was already facing Taliban restrictions, will be effectively destroyed.

A female teacher, who did not want her name disclosed for security reasons, told Zan News: “We were secretly and with great difficulty providing education to girls through the internet. Now even this small window has been closed.”

According to reports, the Taliban had previously cut internet access in the provinces of Kandahar, Badakhshan, Balkh, Kunduz, Baghlan, Zabul, and several others. The Taliban, in justifying this action, said their goal was to “fight against immoralities and preserve the moral security of society,” a claim that has faced widespread domestic and international reactions.

Human rights activists, civil society, and international organizations stress that cutting off the internet is not a fight against immoralities but a suppression of freedom of expression and the deprivation of people’s right to access information.

Meanwhile, analysts warn that with the expansion of this trend, Afghanistan is moving toward a “digital blackout,” a situation where not only access to global information disappears, but the people of the country are also deprived of dialogue with the world.

While the world emphasizes facilitating access to technology and information, Afghanistan under Taliban rule is moving in the opposite direction, a path that carries dire consequences for the future of millions of Afghans, especially the younger generation.