Taliban deny nationwide ban on internet access as outage paralyses Afghanistan

The Taliban government dismissed reports of a nationwide internet ban in Afghanistan on Wednesday, saying that disruptions were due to old fibre optic cables being replaced.

The announcement is the Taliban's first statement regarding a communications blackout that has disrupted banking, commerce and aviation and left the country almost entirely cut off from the outside world since Monday.

Several provinces confirmed an internet shutdown last month following a decree from the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada to combat immorality.

The nationwide outage was first reported on Monday by digital advocacy group Netblocks.

It said internet connectivity was collapsing across the country, including in the capital Kabul, and that telephone services were also affected.

"There is nothing like the rumours being spread that we have imposed a ban on the internet," Taliban officials said in a short statement shared with Pakistani journalists.

Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the nationwide disruptions were the result of "decaying fibre optic infrastructure" that is now being replaced, according to the statement.

It did not say when or if services would be restored. Euronews could not independently verify the statement.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan urged the Taliban on Tuesday to restore internet and telecommunications access across the country, warning that it threatened economic stability and could deepen one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The UN office said the blackout is crippling banking and financial systems, isolating women and girls, limiting access to medical care and remittances and disrupting air travel.

It also said that telecommunications are crucial during disasters. Afghanistan recently suffered major earthquakes in the east and is struggling with mass forced returns from neighbouring countries.

Afghan carrier Kam Air told local TV channel TOLO News it would likely resume flights to Kabul later on Wednesday, after fully halting operations on Monday due to the outage.

According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, most flights scheduled to arrive in or depart from Kabul airport in recent days were either cancelled or had their status marked as "unknown."