High-placed sources in Kandahar and Kabul report that Taliban supreme leader Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada was furious after learning his order to shut down Afghanistan’s fiber optic internet system had been “reversed.
” According to individuals familiar with the matter, the reclusive leader was “shocked and deeply distressed” by the move.
During a meeting with close aides in Kandahar yesterday, Sheikh Hibatullah reportedly declared: “Restoring the fiber optics is like holding the funeral of my Islamic Sharia system
.” Sources said he questioned whether “any difference remains between the Western Republic and the Islamic Emirate” in front of Mawlavi Zafrani and advisor Mufti Abdul Hakim.
Meanwhile, Taliban leaders and ministers in Kabul who had lobbied to reverse Hibatullah’s decision are now cautiously discussing ways to challenge another controversial decree—the nationwide ban on women’s education.
The internet shutdown had previously affected multiple provinces before being temporarily reversed.
