This is the first time since the Taliban came to power in 2021, there has been such a huge communication disruption across the country.
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Afghanistan spent the second consecutive day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday after Taliban authorities shut down the fiber optic network.
Earlier this month, the Taliban started shutting down high-speed internet connections in some provinces to stop "vice". According to the internet watchdog organization Netblox, the mobile signal and internet service gradually weakened and fell below one percent of the normal level till Monday night. This is the first time since the Taliban came to power in 2021, there has been such a huge communication disruption across the country.
'We are in a situation without information without phone and internet,' said Najibullah, a 42-year-old shop owner from Kabul, 'Our business depends on mobile. Deliveries are done through mobile. Now the market is completely closed.'
A government official warned AFP on Monday evening that the fiber optic has been cut and it will also affect mobile services. According to him, "eight to nine thousand telecommunications towers" will be shut down and the blackout will continue until further notice.
'There is no alternative system of communication... it will affect all administrative work from banking to customs,' the official said on condition of anonymity.
NetBlox also said the blackout appeared to be an 'intentional interruption of service'. AFP lost contact with its correspondents in the capital, Kabul, at 5:45 pm (1315 GMT). Afghan citizens living abroad have also expressed their concern saying that they have lost contact with their families. As telephone services are mostly operated through the Internet, especially in countries with weak telecommunication infrastructure, when the fiber line is cut, the entire communication is stopped.
Internet service has been slow and erratic in recent weeks. On September 16, the spokesman of Balkh province, Attaullah Zaid, said that fiber optic internet has been completely banned in the northern province on the order of the Taliban leader. "This step has been taken to prevent malpractices, but alternative options will be provided for necessary connectivity," he wrote on social media.
At the time, AFP correspondents confirmed that similar restrictions were in place from northern Badakhshan and Takhar to southern Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Uruzgan.
In 2024, the Kabul government made the 9,350 km long fiber optic network a national priority, which was built by previous US-backed governments. It was hoped that this would help bring Afghanistan closer to the world and reduce poverty.
