Taliban Planning Major Internet Restrictions
DID Press: Sources within Taliban government have revealed that the group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has issued an order to draft a special bill aimed at significantly restricting internet access across Afghanistan. Under this proposed plan, public access to the internet will be severely curtailed, with usage limited to government entities, commercial sectors, and travel services.
Options being considered for the bill include imposing a nationwide internet blackout during night hours and adopting restrictions inspired by North Korea’s model of internet censorship. Akhundzada has referred to the internet as a “waste of time,” claiming that 95% of the Afghanistan population using it for “haram and negative purposes.”
This development coincides with a nationwide internet and telecommunications shutdown across Afghanistan in recent days. The disruption caused widespread disturbances, including significant disruptions to the banking system, the suspension of media operations, halted commercial communications, and the deprivation of millions of Afghanistani people from access to online education and services. Sources confirm that this shutdown was directly ordered by Akhundzada, but service was later restored after an intervention from the group’s prime minister.
In contrast, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid described the internet outage as the result of “fiber optic cable replacement,” framing it as a purely technical issue.
Observers and social media users have viewed the timing of the internet disruption alongside the proposed bill as a sign of an “operational test” by the Taliban for future enforcement of stricter policies.
Meanwhile, some credible sources told DID Press Agency that nationwide internet shutdown was, in fact, the result of internal power struggles between Akhundzada and the eastern faction of the Taliban led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s interior minister. However, the decision was ultimately challenged by Haqqani, who ordered the restoration of internet services after two days, defying Akhundzada’s directive.