ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United Nations mission in Afghanistan urged the Taliban on Tuesday to restore internet and telecommunications access across the country, saying the blackout imposed by the government in Kabul has left the nation almost entirely cut off from the outside world.

The outage, reported Monday, was the first nationwide shutdown since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, and was part of their professed crackdown on immorality. Earlier this month, several provinces lost their fiber-optic connections after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree banning the service to prevent immorality.

There has been no official comment from the Taliban, who rely on messaging apps and social media for internal and external communications.

The internet disruption threat

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