Afghanistan blocks the use of whatsapp, telegram and other similar services

A temporary measure to prevent its use by the Taliban and other insurgent groups

According to information released so far, the letter was sent to Afghanistan's telecommunications providers after the country's National Security Directorate ordered the change. According to some observers, the measure adopted is an attempt to prevent the use of encrypted messaging services by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

According to Reuters news agency, the letter issued by the Afghan telecommunications services regulator ATRA, dated November 1 and signed by an official of this regulatory body, orders Internet companies to block Telegram's WhatsApp services and Facebook "without delay" for a period of 20 days.

Despite the reflected instructions, this temporary prohibition did not yet appear to have been applied yesterday, Sunday, November 5, because according to different media, both services continued to operate with absolute normality both through the state operator Salaam and from the rest of private privately owned providers.

Public use of mobile phones has grown in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001 after the US-led campaign, such that the use of services such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Viber are popular not only among citizens and politicians, but also among the Taliban.

Despite this, Afghan civil rights groups and social media users have criticized the attempt to block chat platforms, arguing that such a ban cannot be enforced as it can be circumvented through the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). “The reaction of the public, including our first page, is to resist. We cannot tolerate any social media bans or censorship, ”press editor Parwiz Kawa told the BBC.

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A temporary measure to prevent its use by the Taliban and other insurgent groups

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