Afghanistan Plunged into Silence: Taliban’s Nationwide Internet and Mobile Blackout Freezes Economy

Kabul – Afghanistan has been plunged into a near-total internet and mobile phone service blackout that persisted into a second day on Tuesday, following a coordinated action by Taliban authorities to sever the nation’s fibre optic network.

The move, ordered by the supreme leader, has created an unprecedented communications void, triggering widespread panic among families and freezing the country’s fragile, humanitarian-dependent economy.

According to the internet watchdog NetBlocks, connectivity nationwide plummeted to less than one per cent of ordinary levels late Monday.

This extensive shutdown is the most severe and coordinated telecom cut in Afghanistan since the Taliban government won their insurgency and returned to power in 2021, instantly raising fears of a return to the isolationist strictures of previous Taliban rule, which banned mass communication devices.

Country Facing Economic Issues

The decisive order for the disconnection came from Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, as part of a vow to crack down on “immoral activities” and “prevent vice.”

This ideological enforcement was enacted despite warnings from some government officials earlier this month about the severe economic fallout of such a drastic measure.

A government official, speaking to AFP just before the network was severed, warned that the operation would involve shutting down “Eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars” until further notice.

The source added that the blackout would impact nearly every facet of the country. “The banking sector, customs, everything across the country will be affected,” the official predicted.

The impact was immediate and devastating to commerce. Najibullah, a 42-year-old shopkeeper in Kabul, lamented the paralysis. “We are blind without phones and the internet,” he said.

“All our business relies on mobiles. The deliveries are with mobiles. It’s like a holiday; everyone is at home. The market is totally frozen.”

Impact on Education

The shutdown also threatens the scant educational opportunities remaining for women and girls.

Since the Taliban banned girls from attending school beyond grade six, many have relied on online classes provided by educators abroad.

Sabena Chaudhry, communications manager at Women for Afghan Women (WAW), told CNN that the blackout “is not only silencing millions of Afghans but also extinguishing their lifeline to connect with the outside world,” confirming that her New York-based organization has lost contact with staff members inside the country.

International aid and news operations have also been severely impacted.

A UN source reported that operations are “severely impacted, falling back to radio communications and limited satellite links.”

The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse (AFP) both confirmed they had been unable to contact their bureaus in the capital.

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Return to Strictures and a Vague Alternative

The restrictions began to roll out earlier this month across several provinces, including Balkh, Badakhshan, Takhar, Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar, and Uruzgan.

On September 16, Balkh provincial spokesman Attaullah Zaid had confirmed the initial ban came from the leader’s orders.

Zaid later stated that an “alternative system will be established within the country for essential needs,” though he did not clarify what this system would entail or how it would replace the global digital access of the fibre optic network.

Mariam Solaimankhil, a member of the exile Afghan government, expressed the growing anxiety, writing on X, “The silence online without Afghan voices from inside Afghanistan is deafening.”

She issued a direct appeal to Elon Musk, saying, “Starlink is the only way to break the chains of Taliban censorship,” though the satellite service is not currently available in Afghanistan.

As flight data showed several incoming flights to Kabul were cancelled on Tuesday morning, the immediate future of the country remains entirely disconnected and uncertain.