<p><a href="/en/afganistan/kabul" class="glossify-link">KABUL</a> militants on Monday warned in a statement they would target Salaam Telecom, a state-run telephone company.</p>
<p>In the statement, the insurgent group said Salaam Telecom continued to violate Taliban’s orders despite multiple warnings.</p>
<p>In future, the telecom company’s antennas and centers would be a military target for Taliban, fiber optic cables would be cut off and personnel and equipment would be treated as intelligence agents, the source said.</p>
<p>The Taliban said the company was collecting intelligence information for the Afghan government and the US.</p>
<p>“The company does not obey the rules of the Taliban’s commission for controlling companies and organizations like when to suspend or resume services and it provides intelligence information to foreign and domestic forces”, the statement alleged.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Sayed Fahim Hashemi, acting telecommunication and information technology minister, said Taliban’s threats could not stop their activities.</p>
<p>Hashemi, also a member of the management team of Salaam Telecom, said that the company would continue its services.</p>
<p>A month back, telecom companies suspended their services for around two weeks in northern Balkh province.</p>
<p>The Taliban in Balkh had ordered the companies to shut their services down during night while government ordered them to close their offices if could not provide 24 hours services to people.</p>
<p>mds/ma</p>
