Afghanistan blackout: Taliban denies nationwide internet ban

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Taliban has denied imposing a nationwide internet ban, claiming instead that the blackout consuming Afghanistan was due to old fiber optic cables that were now being replaced.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Taliban has denied imposing a nationwide internet ban, claiming instead that the blackout consuming Afghanistan was due to old fiber optic cables that were now being replaced.

Wednesday's announcement was the Taliban’s first public statement since a communications blackout hit the country of over 40 million people, disrupting everything from banking to travel and businesses to aid work.

The Taliban’s Urdu language website Al-Emarah quoted spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that some people were spreading rumors about a ban on internet access in the country, which he said were not true.

However, one senior Taliban leader in Kabul told NBC News: “We don’t understand what’s happening in the country. Nobody is telling us as majority of the people don’t have access to each other.”

It comes after several provinces said last month they would shut down the internet after a government order to crackdown on immorality, fueling fears about new limits on access to the outside world.