Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have imposed a nationwide shutdown of communications, weeks after they began severing fibre optic connections to prevent "vice".

Connectivity was operating at less than 1 per cent of its normal levels on Monday, according to internet watchdog Netblocks, which called it a "comprehensive, or total blackout".

In the minutes before it happened, a government official told news agency AFP the shutdown would last "until further notice".

"It is going to be cut, it will happen gradually tonight, there are eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars it will shut down," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"There isn't any other way or system to communicate … the banking sector, customs, everything across the country will be affected."

AFP lost all cont

See Full Page