New Taliban Order: Internet Services Cut Off in Balkh

Imgae: Noorullah Shirzada / AFP

Following the Taliban’s repressive policies to restrict freedom of expression and access to information, residents of Balkh province report a complete shutdown of internet services in the province, saying that by direct order of the Taliban governor in Balkh, all internet service providers have been suspended for the past two days, leaving no access to the internet through landlines or private companies.

According to residents, the only remaining way to access the internet is through mobile data, and even that comes with serious concerns about Taliban monitoring of people’s communications.

Some local sources say that telecommunications networks are also under direct pressure from the Taliban, and it is likely that people’s calls and digital communications are being systematically intercepted and recorded.

One resident of Mazar-e-Sharif, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told Zan News: “They silenced television with image censorship, and now it is the turn of the internet. We are practically living in a digital prison.”

Alongside these restrictions, another source challenged the Taliban’s double standards, telling Zan News: “The Taliban themselves use the internet, even to watch obscene and worthless content, but we are not allowed to make video calls with our families abroad. This is the height of oppression.”

This decision comes after the Taliban had already banned the broadcast of images on television in Balkh, an action that sparked widespread reactions from Afghan social media users. Political analysts also say that banning the internet in a large and strategic province like Balkh is a clear sign of intensified control of information and the suppression of any form of civil resistance.