Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday, after Taliban authorities cut the fibre optic network.

The government began shutting down high speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent “vice” on the orders of shadowy supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

On Monday night, mobile phone signal and internet service gradually weakened nationwide until connectivity was less than one percent of ordinary levels, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks.

It is the first time since the Taliban government won their insurgency in 2021 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law that communications have been shut down in the country.

“We are blind without phones and internet,” said 42-year-old shopkeeper Najibullah in Kabul.

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