KABUL, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan government has suspended fiber optic services across multiple provinces to curb "immoral activities," local media outlet TOLOnews reported late Wednesday.

The measure, first implemented in Balkh province on Tuesday, now extends to Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar, and Badakhshan in the north, with additional suspensions reported in eastern Laghman, and southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

The Kunduz and Balkh local officials confirmed the shutdown follows a decree from the Afghan government's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, stating that cable-based internet services in the above-mentioned provinces have been "completely stopped" to prevent immorality.

Afghan Telecom, the state-owned company that provides more than 60 percent of the country's fiber optic services, has been directly affected. ■