Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered a phased shutdown of internet services across Afghanistan, declaring the web the “root of all evil” and directing telecom providers to curb access this week in multiple cities. Acting on the decree, the state-owned Afghan Telecom first suspended fiber service in Mazar-i-Sharif and then expanded the blackout to Kandahar on Tuesday, according to local officials, who said the move was imposed “to curb what he described as ‘immoral activities.’”
The clampdown began in the north before reaching Kandahar, long seen as Akhundzada’s power base, signaling the political weight behind the decision and the likelihood of broader restrictions to come. Taliban officials confirmed the measures were ordered by the leader. In Balkh province, spokesman Haji Zaid said Akhundzada had directed the creation of “an alternative domestic solution” to cover urgent needs while external connectivity is restricted.
While mobile data on private networks remained accessible in some areas on Tuesday, users and service providers said they feared a wider cutoff. A Kabul-based official from the Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, who spoke to The Media Line on condition of anonymity, said, “At least six cabinet ministers have voiced concerns over the supreme leader’s unprecedented decree,” adding that the ministers convened early Tuesday to discuss economic and administrative fallout.
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The emerging policy threatens to disrupt government services that had moved online in recent years and to stall humanitarian operations that depend on digital platforms for payments, logistics, and communications. It could also deepen an already severe economic crisis. Afghanistan’s banking, business, and aid sectors rely heavily on stable internet links to regional partners; any sustained blackout would slow trade, hamper remittances, and complicate relief work by international organizations.
Since retaking power in August 2021 after the US withdrawal, the Taliban have tightened social controls, barring most girls and women from secondary schools and universities, restricting female employment, and curbing independent media. The authorities previously blocked platforms such as TikTok and certain online games, arguing they spread “immorality.” The new order goes further, shifting from content policing to infrastructure control and raising the prospect of a state-run “national intranet” to replace the global web.
Officials close to the process said the phased approach—starting with fixed fiber lines—allows the government to test an Afghan-hosted network while minimizing immediate backlash. But technologists warn that a walled-off system would be costlier, slower, and easier to censor, cutting Afghans off from education, telemedicine, e-commerce, and basic information. Banks and money-transfer services, already fragile, could face outages that ripple through household incomes and public payrolls.
International rights groups and Afghan civil society organizations have urged the Taliban to reverse course, arguing that internet access is essential for economic recovery and accountability. For now, the government’s message is unambiguous: The leadership intends to centralize control over the country’s digital lifelines while it develops what Zaid called “an alternative domestic solution.” Whether that replacement can meet Afghanistan’s modern economic needs—or simply walls the country off—will be tested in the days ahead.