Taliban Cut Internet to Cover Up Their Crimes

Image: Reuters/Ali Khara

In a sweeping and unprecedented move, the Taliban have cut fiber optic internet services in at least 14 provinces of Afghanistan. This action has not only deprived thousands of citizens of access to education, work, and vital communications, but according to “Nai in Exile,” it is part of the group’s organized effort to “cover up crimes against humanity and shut the last windows of hope for women and girls to education.”

Nai in Exile warned in a statement that with this decision, the Taliban are effectively turning Afghanistan into a “second North Korea,” with the difference that in Afghanistan restrictions on women and girls are imposed to the maximum and with even greater brutality. The organization said: “Cutting the internet means silencing the truth, increasing war crimes, and preventing their documentation at the global level.”

According to this organization, by shutting down the vital lifeline of the internet, the Taliban have placed citizens in darkness and isolation, seeking to deprive Afghan society of its basic rights, especially freedom of expression and the right to education.

The statement also stressed that online education was the last relative solution for Afghan girls in the face of Taliban restrictions, but now, with this measure, that too has been completely destroyed.

In the past three days, the Taliban have cut fiber optic internet in the provinces of Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Herat, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Paktika, Laghman, Nangarhar, and Kunar. Reliable sources state that this action was taken under the direct order of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader. Although mobile network internet remains active, these services are insufficient and ineffective, particularly for education, media, and online businesses.

According to Nai in Exile, the Taliban are not only seeking to control cyberspace and monitor phone conversations, but also to turn Afghanistan into a “silent prison,” where no voice of crime, repression, or resistance from the people can reach the outside world.