Internet connection disappeared throughout Afghanistan, leading to a "complete internet blackout" in the country with a population of 43 million people, reported the international internet monitoring service NetBlocks on Monday evening. "Afghanistan is now in a state of complete internet disconnection as the Taliban authorities take steps to enforce morality," the organization said in a message on its Telegram channel.
Afghans living abroad told CNN that they cannot contact relatives in the country, and on Tuesday morning, flight data showed that several flights arriving in Kabul were canceled.
Kabul's Tolo News TV channel reported that the shutdown seriously affected its operations. International news agencies Associated Press and Agence France-Presse stated that they could not contact their bureaus in the capital, Kabul.
In mid-September, the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan and are no longer considered terrorists in Russia but are seen as partners, imposed a ban on the use of fiber optic internet in the Balkh province "to prevent immorality." As a result of this measure, government institutions, the private sector, and residential homes in Balkh were completely disconnected from Wi-Fi while maintaining mobile internet, which is much slower.
This shutdown appears to be the largest and most coordinated telecommunications shutdown in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, raising concerns about a return to the strict restrictions of the previous Taliban rule, which, as part of its war on immorality, banned television, satellite communication, and other mass media.
Earlier this month, Taliban representatives warned that they would cut off internet access across the country "to prevent immoral actions." "An alternative system will be created in the country to meet basic needs," said Haji Zaid, the governor of the northern province of Balkh, in his statement, without specifying what is meant by "immoral activity."