Kabul:In a move that can curb “freedom of expression”, the Afghanistan government has asked several private telecommunication companies to suspend WhatsApp and Telegram instant messaging services in the country. Although the apps, popular among the country’s elite, were still working on private telecom operators on Friday, customers of Salaam Telecom, a government-owned service provider, reported that both apps had stopped working for them, The New York Times reported late Friday.
“It is wrong and illegal,” Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, executive director of Nai, a group that campaigns for free speech, was quoted as saying. “According to the Constitution, freedom of expression is inviolable in Afghanistan. “WhatsApp and Telegram are tools of free speech — if the government bans them, it means that tomorrow they could stand against media in Afghanistan too,” he added.