Kabul
Afghans are experiencing a near-total communications blackout for the second consecutive day after Taliban authorities cut internet and mobile phone services nationwide. The shutdown, part of an unprecedented crackdown on connectivity, has disrupted everyday life, business, and essential services across the country.
The Taliban, who regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, began gradually restricting internet access earlier this month, citing a need to “prevent immorality,” according to supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. Telephone services, often routed over the internet, have also been affected. By Monday night, connectivity had dropped to less than 1% of normal levels, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks, and remained minimal on Tuesday.
Residents and business owners reported severe disruption. “We are blind without phones and internet,” said Najibullah, a shopkeeper in Kabul. “All our business relies on mobiles. The market is completely frozen.”
Human rights groups condemned the blackout, arguing it deprives millions of Afghans of access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods. Fereshta Abbasi of Human Rights Watch called on the Taliban to abandon claims of morality and consider the irreversible harm caused by the shutdowns.
This marks the first time the Taliban have imposed a nationwide communications ban. Past restrictions targeted social media or specific provinces, but Monday’s shutdown involved shutting down “eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars” with no clear end date. UN sources report operations are heavily affected, relying on radio and limited satellite links. Critics say the measure isolates the population, while the Taliban insist it is meant to curb vice.
Afghanistan’s 9,350km national fibre-optic network, built under previous governments to connect the country globally, has effectively been severed, reversing years of progress in digital infrastructure.
