Afghanistan has been offline for more than 40 hours after the Taliban shut down nationwide internet and telecommunications services, disrupting everything from family phone calls to banking and hospital operations. Taliban have not explained the blackout.
The shutdown began at 5 p.m. local time on Sept. 29, when both fiber-optic and mobile services — including GSM, 3G and 4G — were cut, according to sources. A few users reported sporadic connections through Roshan and Etisalat, but most of the country remains disconnected.
The Taliban had earlier claimed the move was aimed at preventing “immoral behavior,” after starting with fiber-optic restrictions in northern provinces in mid-September before extending the order nationwide. Analysts say the blackout is costing Afghanistan millions of dollars in economic losses while deepening its humanitarian crisis.
Human Rights Watch said the blackout has imperiled fundamental rights, cutting off Afghans from education, healthcare, commerce and access to information. “The Taliban’s moves to cut internet access harms the livelihoods of millions of Afghans and deprives them of their basic rights,” said Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher with the organization.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also urged the Taliban to restore services immediately, warning that the outage risks “significant harm” by disrupting banking, aviation, medical care and remittances. The U.N. said the shutdown is particularly devastating for women and girls, who remain barred from secondary and higher education and rely on online classes as one of their last avenues to learn.
The blackout has also paralyzed media outlets, many of which have been unable to publish online, and left Afghan migrants abroad unable to contact relatives inside the country. “We tried different ways to reach people in Afghanistan, but all communications were blocked,” said journalist Murtaza Safa, now based in Pakistan.
Technology experts note that Afghanistan relies mainly on two systems: fiber-optic internet, which is faster, cheaper and harder to censor, and satellite or GSM services, which are more costly and easier to block. Two weeks before the shutdown, sources confirmed that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had ordered the halt of fiber services, beginning in Balkh province and later spreading across the country.
Humanitarian groups say the blackout could not have come at a worse time. Afghanistan is recovering from recent earthquakes in the east and facing the mass forced return of refugees from neighboring countries. “This is another crisis on top of the existing crises, and the impact is going to be on the lives of Afghan people,” said Indrika Ratwatte, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan.
As the blackout stretches past 40 hours, Afghans warn they are being pushed into what activists call “complete digital darkness.”
