Taliban cuts Afghanistan’s internet, with ‘extremely serious’ rights implications, UN says

Afghanistan’s internet and telecommunications have been cut, and it is having “extremely serious” rights implications, with women and girls especially affected, the UN human rights office says.

Mobile phone signal and internet service in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban government, weakened on Monday night until connectivity was less than one percent of normal levels.

“Nationwide internet shutdown by (the) Taliban has extremely serious human rights ramifications across the country,” the UN rights office says on X.

The shutdown has curtailed the free flow of information crucial to everyday activities, including access to essential services from health and education to banking, the office says.

“Women & girls already excluded from public life are especially affected. We call for immediate reconnection,” it adds.

Afghans have been unable to contact each other, online businesses and the banking systems are frozen, while members of the diaspora cannot send crucial remittances to their families.