A huge communications blackout has hit Afghanistan after Taliban authorities began severing fibre-optic connections in several provinces to prevent “vice.”
Netblocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance, said, “A nationwide telecoms blackout is now in effect,” adding, “We’re now observing national connectivity at 14% of ordinary levels.”
The watchdog said that the incident “appears consistent with the intentional disconnection of service.” It noted, “It may turn out that disconnecting internet access while keeping phone service available will take some trial and error.”
“Afghanistan is now in the midst of a total internet blackout as Taliban authorities move to implement morality measures, with multiple networks disconnected through the morning in a stepwise manner; telephone services are currently also impacted.”
Netblocks
Taliban authorities began the crackdown on internet access earlier this month, in effect shutting down high-speed internet in several regions.
Over the past several weeks, internet connections have been extremely slow or intermittent. Telephone services are often routed over the internet, sharing the same fibre lines, especially in countries with limited telecoms infrastructure. “Physically pulling the plug on fibre internet would therefore also shut down mobile and fixed-line telephone services,” Netblocks said.
On 16 September, the Balkh provincial Spokesperson, Attaullah Zaid said that fibre-optic internet was completely banned in the northern province on the leader’s orders.
“This measure was taken to prevent vice, and alternative options will be put in place across the country to meet connectivity needs.”
Attaullah Zaid
At the time, the same restrictions were reported in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, as well as in Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Uruzgan in the south.
In 2024, Kabul had touted the 9,350-km (5,800-mile) fibre-optic network – largely built by former US-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 in 2021, the Taliban have instituted numerous restrictions in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.
The US and most other Western nations have refused to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government since it retook control in 2021, following the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from the country.
The country’s Taliban rulers have dramatically rolled back the rights of women and girls, detained journalists, and cracked down on public dissent since retaking power.
The country faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to Human Rights Watch, exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and the return of 1.9 million refugees expelled from Iran and Pakistan.
Afghanistan is also still recovering from a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people earlier this month.
Lack Of Internet Access To Be Problematic For Afghanistan
Torek Farhadi, a former senior advisor to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, told a news agency that the lack of internet access will be devastating for ordinary people in Afghanistan.
“For Afghanistan’s youth, it is definitely another costly fallback if it continues. It closes the door on online education, it severely handicaps business owners who communicate with clients.”
Torek Farhadi
Farhadi added that it is a “deliberate decision to lead society to a blind spot.”
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