Taliban orders ban on internet in northern Afghanistan ‘to prevent immoral activities’

A Taliban flag flutters near telecom equipment installed over a rooftop providing internet services overlooking Hazrat-e-Ali Shrine, in Mazar-i-Sharif on Tuesday, as the Taliban administration banned fibre-optic internet in Balkh province. Atif Aryan/AFP/Getty Images Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters —

The Taliban administration on Wednesday announced an internet ban across a swathe of northern Afghanistan, “to prevent immoral activities,” provincial government statements said.

The hardline Islamist movement has previously voiced concern over pornography and flirtation between men and women online.

It is the first such internet ban since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, though it has announced other measures including stopping girls going to high school and women working i