Both the chief executive of Afghanistan and his deputy spokesperson tweeted that neither WhatsApp nor Telegram will be banned following a meeting between Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani.

President @ashrafghani and Chief Executive Abdullah met today & decided that there will be no ban on Whatsapp & Telegram in #Afghanistan. — Dr. Abdullah (@afgexecutive) November 6, 2017

Government of #Afghanistan isn't going to ban any social media platforms. Whatsapp and Telegram to continue operating in Afghanistan. — Javid Faisal (@Javidfaisal) November 6, 2017

While the issue now appears to be resolved, it's still unclear which Afghan agencies wanted the ban in the first place. Though the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology sent the requests to the country's telecommunications companies, a source told the New York Times that the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's intelligence agency, was actually behind the move. And stated reasoning for the proposed temporary ban ranged from security concerns to the apps' service quality.

Regardless of who initiated the ban and why, many were quick to speak out about it. Nai, a free speech activist group based in Afghanistan, tweeted that the move was nothing short of tyranny.