The Taliban has denied implementing a nationwide internet ban, following a communications blackout across Afghanistan this week.
In a statement made to Pakistani journalists on a chat group on Wednesday, Taliban officials claimed the outages have been caused by old fibre-optic cables that needed replacing.
“There is nothing like the rumours being spread that we have imposed a ban on the internet,” they said in a three-line statement.
It is the hardline Islamic government’s first public announcement on the issue since the start of communications failures, which also compromised telephone services, on Monday.
Netblocks, a global internet watchdog, said at the time that there was a “total internet blackout” in the nation of 43 million people.
Despite the Taliban claiming no hand in the internet closure, the group has previously cut internet services in some areas of the country as part of leader Haibatullah Akhunzada’s decree to combat purported immorality.
On September 16, the Balkh provincial spokesperson confirmed that fibre-optic internet had been completely banned in the northern province “to prevent vice”.
Restrictions were also reported last month in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, and the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Nangarhar.
An Afghan government official told the AFP news agency on Monday that “eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars” from the fibre-optic network would be shut down “until further notice”.
Meanwhile, online TV channel TOLOnews said earlier this week that the Taliban had set a one-week deadline for the shutdown of 3G and 4G internet services for all mobile phones.
As well as severing personal communications, the blackout has affected sectors including aviation, banking and commerce.
The lack of internet risks cutting off the country just weeks after a magnitude 6 earthquake in the east of the country that killed more than 2,200 people.
