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The Taliban imposed a nationwide shutdown of communications in Afghanistan, weeks after they started severing fibre optic connections to prevent what it calls “vice” and immorality.
Connectivity was operating at less than 1 per cent of its normal levels, according to internet watchdog Netblocks, which called it a “comprehensive, or total blackout”.
In the minutes before it happened, a government official told the Agence France-Presse news agency the shutdown would last “until further notice”.
“It is going to be cut, it will happen gradually tonight, there are eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars that will shut down,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“There isn’t any other way or system to communicate … the banking sector, customs, everything across the country will be affected.”
AFP said it lost all contact with its bureau in the capital Kabul at around 11:30pm AEST.
The Taliban started the crackdown on access earlier this month, effectively shutting down high-speed internet in several regions.
Telephone services are often routed over the internet, sharing the same fibre lines, especially in countries with limited telecoms infrastructure.
“A nationwide telecoms blackout is now in effect,” said Netblocks, which monitors cybersecurity and internet governance, adding it “appears consistent with the intentional disconnection of service”.
“It may turn out that disconnecting internet access while keeping phone service available will take some trial and error.”
Over the past weeks, internet connections have been extremely slow or intermittent.
On September 16, Attaullah Zaid, the spokesperson for Balkh province, announced that fibre optic internet had been entirely prohibited in the northern region as per the orders of the Taliban leader.
“This measure was taken to prevent vice, and alternative options will be put in place across the country to meet connectivity needs,” Zaid wrote on social media.
At the time, AFP correspondents reported the same restrictions in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, as well as in Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Uruzgan in the south.
“Internet connection is a vital lifeline for the people of Afghanistan, including Balkh province, where I come from, linking local communities with the rest of the world,” Nasir Ahmad Haidarzai, a PhD candidate at the University of Southern Queensland, told SBS Pashto.
“For many, especially youth and women, online access is the only way to study, gain knowledge and engage with the wider world,” he said.
In 2024, Kabul had touted the 9,350-kilometre fibre optic network — largely built by former United States-backed governments — as a “priority” to bring the country closer to the rest of the world and lift it out of poverty.
Since regaining power, the Taliban have instituted numerous restrictions in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
It is the first time since the Taliban government won their insurgency in 2021 that communications have been shut down in the country.
