Afghanistan vowed to block access as part of a crackdown on “immoral activities” on Tuesday, causing fears of further isolation for millions of people living under increasingly strict control, facing a drastic internet blackout.
Internet WatchDog NetBlocks said several Afghan networks had been disconnected late Monday, and telephone services were also affected, with a “complete internet blackout” for 43 million people.
Afghans abroad were unable to contact family members in the country, and flight data on Tuesday morning showed that several incoming flights to Kabul had been cancelled.
“Since yesterday, there has been no communication with one person,” Mohammad Hadi, a 30-year-old Afghanistan who has been living in Delhi, India’s capital since 2019, told CNN. “There’s no way to talk to them to see if they’re safe.”
Hadi said the looming sense of panic between the Afghan diaspora was suddenly cut off by his loved ones.
“It’s all messing around. It’s all connected. At least we could have called before,” he said.
Kabul-based Tolo News TV reported that the shutdown had a serious impact on its operations. The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse International News Agencies said they were unable to contact a station in Kabul, the capital.
The blackout appears to be Afghanistan’s most widespread, coordinated communications closure since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, raising concerns about a return to Taliban rules where television, satellites and other mass communications devices were banned in the war on immorality.
What caused the power outages – and how widespread the outages are, it is not immediately clear. CNN had not attempted to contact Taliban officials for comment via the messaging app, but there was no official statement from the group yet.
Earlier this month, Taliban officials warned that they would block internet access across the country “to prevent immoral activities.”
“An alternative system will be established within the country for essential needs,” Balkh governor Haji Zaid said in a statement. He did not clarify the meaning of “immoral activity.”
Zaid said the order came from Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, the hidden supreme leader of the Taliban.
Wahida Faizi, a Denmark-based Afghan journalist, described the personal sacrifice of losing contact with her family. “It’s only been a few hours since the internet was blocked in Afghanistan, but for me it feels like a lifetime has passed,” Faige told CNN on Monday.
“The day after work, my mother and father’s voice brought peace to my heart… Perhaps we’ve always complained about the slow internet in Afghanistan, but today I realized that even the internet flaws and simple moments of video calls are a huge blessing,” Faige said.
Activists said the closure could have devastating consequences for Afghanistan. Afghanistan is suffering from a humanitarian crisis that has worsened since the Taliban took power in 2021 after the US withdrawal.
Since the Taliban banned girls from attending schools in grade 6 and above, many have relied on online classes offered by educators and charities overseas. When the internet is shut down, these opportunities are threatened.
Sabena Chaudhry, communications manager for Afghan Women’s (WAW), a women’s rights group in Afghanistan, said the blackouts “not only silence millions of Afghans, but also emit lifelines to connect with the outside world.”
New York-based Chaudhry said he lost contact with staff in Afghanistan.
The Taliban cut human rights that create an “environmental environment of fear and threat” in its report on Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) UN Support Mission (UNAMA) released last July.
“The voiceless online silence from within Afghanistan seems deafening,” writes Mariam Soramankir, a member of the Afghan government, who has fallen into exile by the Taliban, in X.
“My heart hurts – our people are cut off and the world is left in the darkness without them.”
“Starlink is the only way to break the Taliban censorship chain,” she said, calling Starlink owner Elon Musk “to stand on the right side of history.”
According to the company’s website, Starlink is currently unavailable in Afghanistan.
Hilary Whiteman contributed the report
