Afghanistan has been thrust into an unprecedented digital darkness after the Taliban ordered a nationwide internet and mobile phone blackout, a move that has left more than 43 million people almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. The blackout, which began in phases on September 29 and reached its peak on September 30, 2025, is the first of its kind since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, according to reports from Sky News, France24, CNN, and other international outlets.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks, which closely monitors global internet access, reported that Afghanistan’s connectivity had plummeted to less than 1% of ordinary levels as the blackout took hold. In a statement, NetBlocks described the situation as “consistent with the intentional disconnection of service,” adding that, “The incident is likely to severely limit the public’s ability to contact the outside world.” The group’s data showed that national connectivity was at just 14% of normal levels at one point, before dropping even further as the shutdown was completed.
The Taliban’s stated justification for the sweeping shutdown is the prevention of “immorality” and “vice,” terms the group has used to describe activities and content it deems contrary to its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reportedly issued a decree earlier in September banning fibre-optic internet services across several provinces, with authorities setting a one-week deadline for the shutdown of 3G and 4G mobile internet services. Only the older, slower 2G standard remains active, leaving most Afghans with little more than patchy voice calls—if that.
The impact of the blackout has been immediate and far-reaching. Major cities such as Kabul, Herat, and Kandahar experienced the sharpest drops in connectivity, but the effects have been felt nationwide. As France24 reported, the shutdown has disrupted online businesses, frozen banking systems, halted remittances from the Afghan diaspora, and even grounded all flights at Kabul airport. A bank worker in Kabul told AFP, “I came to work this morning but we cannot run any business because clients do not have access to online banking, transactions, cash withdrawal, or money authorisation. When there was internet, we never felt how important it was.”
The blackout has also crippled government operations, customs, and the post office, which relies on banking services to function. According to a government source who spoke to 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.” Even the media has not been spared: Tolo News, a private Afghan channel, warned viewers of disruptions to its services, and Kabul-based TOLOnews noted that radio and television transmissions had been hit as well.
For ordinary Afghans, the shutdown has been nothing short of a lifeline being severed. A teacher shared with Sky News how a wifi switch-off in her area was “extinguishing the only light that still reaches us.” She added, “This is more than a technical disruption—it’s a rupture in the lifeline we’ve built together. In this difficult moment, we need each other more than ever to stay strong, to stay hopeful.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned the blackout, urging the Taliban to immediately restore internet and telecommunications access. In a statement, the UN said, “The cut in access has left Afghanistan almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people, including by threatening economic stability and exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.” The UN also warned that the blackout “constitutes a further restriction on access to information and freedom of expression in Afghanistan.”
Telecom companies—Roshan, Etisalat, Afghan Wireless, and Afghan Telecom—have remained publicly silent amid the crisis, but the impact on their operations is severe. With fibre-optic connections shut down, these providers are losing revenue from both internet and phone services, as calls often run through the same fibre backbone. The blackout has also made it nearly impossible for operators to manage their networks, route traffic, or conduct routine maintenance. The Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA), the government agency responsible for regulating the industry, has not issued any public communications regarding the blackout.
The crackdown began earlier this month, with high-speed internet being slowed or cut across many areas. In Balkh province, Attaullah Zaid, the provincial spokesperson, explained, “This measure was taken to prevent vice, and alternative options will be put in place across the country to meet connectivity needs.” Similar restrictions were reported in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, as well as in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar, and Uruzgan.
The blackout also undermines Afghanistan’s ambitious 9,350-kilometre fibre optic network, which was launched in 2024 under the former US-backed government to bring the country closer to the rest of the world and lift it out of poverty. Now, as France24 and Euromoney highlight, the shutdown not only damages future incentives for investment but also breaks customer trust in the nation’s fragile telecom infrastructure.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed increasingly hardline restrictions in the name of combating “immorality.” Women have been banned from many lines of employment, girls have been barred from attending high school, and most recently, women working for the United Nations were stopped from entering its offices. The group claims to respect women’s rights in line with its interpretation of Islamic law, but international observers and rights advocates have repeatedly raised concerns about the growing repression.
Analysts warn that the internet blackout will further curtail the ability of girls and women to seek an education, as many had turned to online resources since the Taliban’s return. The move also threatens to isolate Afghan society even further, making it harder for citizens to access information, communicate with loved ones abroad, or participate in the global economy.
With the Taliban able to order service suspensions at will, telecom providers are seen to have little autonomy, and the government’s refusal to allow journalists into the telecommunications ministry only underscores the atmosphere of increasing control and secrecy. As a UN source told AFP, operations across Afghanistan are now “severely impacted, falling back to radio communications and limited satellite links.” AFP journalists witnessed Taliban security forces using radios to communicate at public buildings such as the airport and post office.
For now, Afghanistan remains largely in the dark, both literally and figuratively. As the world watches, the country’s citizens are left to grapple with the consequences of a government determined to enforce its vision of morality—no matter the cost to connectivity, economic stability, or basic freedoms.