Five days after internet services were restored across Afghanistan, many residents say the connection remains slow and unstable, disrupting daily life, education and business operations.
Users report frequent dropouts and significantly reduced speeds since the network returned following a 48-hour nationwide shutdown imposed by the Taliban Monday, Sept. 29. The outage, which also disrupted mobile phone services, left the country digitally isolated and caused widespread concern among citizens and businesses.
Yalda, a third-year university student enrolled in an online program, said her studies have been severely affected. “Our education depends entirely on the internet, but since it came back, the constant disconnections have caused serious problems,” she said. “Even downloading a small file now takes much longer than before.”
Another Kabul resident said the poor connectivity has paralyzed banking and daily transactions. “Internet speed was never good before, but now it’s much worse,” he said. “When we go to the bank, systems don’t work because of the internet problems. This has disrupted our daily lives, and we want the authorities to fix it quickly.”
The nationwide blackout began Monday last week after a decree reportedly issued by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, initially described as an effort to prevent “immorality” and “misuse of the internet.” The shutdown lasted nearly two days, halting digital services, banking operations and even air traffic at Kabul airport. International organizations were forced to rely on satellite and radio communications to maintain contact.
Businesses and aid agencies reported significant financial losses during the blackout, and although connectivity has since been restored, the quality of service remains inconsistent — especially in provincial areas. Residents in Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar told Amu that their internet connections frequently drop or slow to unusable levels.
Despite mounting public frustration, the Taliban authorities have not provided any official explanation for the cause of the outage or the ongoing poor quality. The Ministry of Communications has not commented on whether the problem is technical or the result of continuing restrictions.
The extended disruption has fueled concern among Afghans and economic observers that the country’s fragile digital infrastructure — already weakened by years of underinvestment — may take time to recover fully. Analysts warn that persistent connectivity issues could further harm commerce, education and humanitarian coordination in one of the world’s most aid-dependent nations.
