In a dramatic escalation of digital repression, the Taliban have moved swiftly to sever Afghanistan’s access to the internet, plunging much of the country into a communications blackout. What began on September 16, 2025, as a targeted shutdown in Balkh province—ostensibly to "prevent immorality"—has rapidly expanded. By September 18, fiber-optic services had been disconnected in 14 provinces, including major population centers and economic hubs, according to local sources cited by BBC Persian and Afghanistan Analysts Network.
The list of affected provinces reads like a roll call of Afghanistan’s heartland: Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Herat, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Paktika, Laghman, Nangarhar, and the most recent addition, Kunar. Residents in these regions report that Afghan Telecom—the state-owned provider—has been forced to halt not only its fiber-optic operations but, in some cases, even its mobile internet services. In Kandahar, for instance, Afghan Telecom’s services went dark immediately after the Taliban’s order, leaving thousands scrambling for alternatives.
“This is not merely a question of censorship; it is an act of self-sabotage against both society and the economy,” wrote analysts at Afghanistan Analysts Network, echoing the frustration and fear felt by millions. In Kunduz, Taliban forces reportedly entered the offices of several internet providers and seized their equipment. The governor’s office later confirmed the move, stating that the shutdown was mandated by the group’s supreme leader to curb “immorality.”
For a country already teetering on the edge of isolation, the consequences are profound. Afghanistan’s digital backbone was fragile even before these restrictions. By early 2024, less than 20 percent of Afghans were regular internet users, most relying on slow, costly mobile data. The nation’s economy—valued at roughly $17 billion—remains heavily dependent on foreign aid and remittances, with few avenues for sustainable growth.
Now, with the digital lifeline abruptly cut, the ripple effects are being felt in every corner of Afghan society. “Every switch turned off reduces productivity, cuts household income, wipes out small businesses, and closes the last remaining avenues of education, employment, and public voice for women and girls,” the Afghanistan Analysts Network observed. The online world had become an essential space for Afghan women, especially those barred from schools and most jobs. For them, the internet was not a luxury—it was their only classroom, their only workplace, and their only window to the world.
According to BBC Persian, the shutdown’s reach extends far beyond fiber-optic lines. In Kandahar, local sources reported that Afghan Telecom’s mobile services also went down on Tuesday, raising fears that the Taliban’s ban could escalate into a complete blackout of all digital communications. If confirmed, the loss of mobile networks would multiply the economic, educational, and social losses many times over.
The economic fallout is already evident. Small businesses—street vendors, freelancers, and online teachers—have lost the ability to operate. The blackout severs their access to markets, clients, and income, forcing many to abandon their livelihoods. Clinics, families, and businesses are now left to rely on prohibitively expensive and unreliable alternatives, delaying transactions and disrupting daily life. “With fiber and possibly mobile networks shut down, families, clinics, and businesses are forced to rely on prohibitively expensive and unreliable alternatives,” analysts wrote, underscoring the inefficiency and frustration permeating the country.
Financial inclusion, already limited, is eroding. Remittances, mobile money, and digital payments have become unstable and unreliable, pushing people back toward cash-based transactions that are slower, riskier, and more costly. As trust in digital tools collapses, so too does the incentive for investment—both domestic and foreign. Companies like Afghan Telecom and private providers are losing a major portion of their income, further weakening Afghanistan’s already fragile tax base.
There are also growing concerns about the delivery of humanitarian aid. International agencies rely on the internet to coordinate and implement their programs. With digital communications down, the delivery of assistance is delayed, and the risk increases that women and other vulnerable groups will be overlooked. “Humanitarian agencies rely heavily on the internet to coordinate and implement their programs. Restrictions delay the delivery of assistance and increase the risk that women and other vulnerable groups will be overlooked,” according to Afghanistan Analysts Network.
Perhaps most devastating is the impact on Afghanistan’s women and girls. For them, the internet ban is not just an economic blow; it is another attempt to erase them from public life. “The internet was their last open window, a gateway to education, work, and connection with the outside world. Closing that window means fewer opportunities and deeper censorship of their very existence,” one rights advocate told BBC Persian. Girls who depended on online learning now face a locked door, with long-term and possibly irreparable damage to their skills, education, and future earning potential.
In some provinces, the shutdown has disrupted even the most basic government services. In Balkh, the disconnection of fiber-optic internet brought the province’s banking system to a standstill, halting services at financial institutions and government agencies. In response, Balkh governor Yousuf Wafa ordered that banks, the electronic ID office, and several other key institutions be exempted from the ban, allowing bank services in Mazar-e-Sharif to resume by Tuesday morning. But these exceptions are few and far between, and most Afghans remain cut off.
The Taliban have promised to build a "national network" to serve domestic needs, but experts and rights advocates are deeply skeptical. Closed networks, they say, stifle market freedom, innovation, and competition. Such systems are typically expensive, inefficient, and unreliable—requiring capital, technical expertise, and supply chain resources that the Taliban simply do not possess. Instead of offering opportunity, a national network would function as a tool of control, further isolating Afghanistan from the global community.
Rights advocates argue that the true aim of these restrictions is to tighten the Taliban’s grip on information and limit personal freedoms. “The restrictions are part of a broader campaign by the group to tighten control over information and limit freedoms,” BBC Persian reported, citing both local residents and international observers. With over 13 million internet users in the country, according to Taliban authorities, the stakes could not be higher.
As the blackout continues, many Afghans are resorting to informal and even illegal channels to access information and financial services. This shift erodes transparency, undermines the trust of aid organizations, and pushes the country further into the shadows. Students, freelancers, and businesses dependent on digital platforms are now either migrating to other regions or leaving the country altogether, accelerating the flight of capital and talent and undermining any prospects for local growth.
Afghanistan stands at a crossroads. The Taliban can continue down the path of social isolation, risking economic collapse and the further erosion of rights, or they can choose to restore connectivity and offer their people a measure of hope and prosperity. For now, the digital darkness deepens, and the country’s future hangs in the balance.
