Mobile and internet services return across Afghanistan after 48-hour blackout
Mobile phone and internet services were restored across much of Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon, local residents and telecommunications firms said, ending an abrupt 48‑hour outage that left banks, remittances, flights and online classrooms in disarray.
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Subscribers of Roshan and Etisalat — the country’s largest mobile operators, both with significant foreign ownership — reported signal returning late in the day in Kabul and in provincial cities. Internet service providers also said connectivity had been re-established after the sudden suspension began on Monday.
The Taliban administration offered no official explanation for the outage. A spokesman in the information ministry told Reuters that technical problems were to blame and that services would be restored quickly; that account could not be independently verified. Other Taliban officials did not respond to requests for comment, and a UN spokesperson had urged the authorities to reinstate connectivity for the safety and livelihoods of Afghan citizens.
Chaos for businesses, travelers and students
For many Afghans the shutdown was more than an inconvenience: it was a direct threat to income, safety and education. Shops that accept mobile payments went cash-only overnight. Money transfer services, a lifeline for families dependent on remittances from abroad, stalled for hours. Several banks temporarily halted operations. Passengers at Kabul airport and elsewhere said flights were cancelled or delayed because airline systems were unable to operate reliably.
“I ran out of cash and there was no way to transfer money to my parents in the provinces,” said a Kabul shopkeeper who gave his name as Mohammed. “We could not pay suppliers, and people could not receive their salaries.” He spoke by phone once service returned.
The outage also struck at one of the few remaining avenues for Afghan women and girls to access education. Since the Taliban banned females from attending secondary schools and universities, many have relied on online classes to continue learning. “My Zoom class froze, and all my course materials were inaccessible,” said a teenage student in Kabul who asked not to be named. “It feels like being pushed further into isolation.”
Part of a pattern of digital restrictions
The suspension comes amid a wider pattern of restrictive measures imposed by the de facto authorities since they took control in 2021. This year alone, the Taliban have implemented internet blackouts across northern provinces at times and have placed bans on cultural activities — including a widely reported prohibition on playing chess, which the movement said could foster gambling.
Broad disruptions to connectivity have become an increasingly common tool for governments seeking to control information and curb dissent around the world. In recent years, the international community has documented shutdowns in Ethiopia, Myanmar and parts of the Middle East and Africa that were enacted during protests, elections or security operations. These blackouts are often justified on national security grounds but have far-reaching economic and human costs.
“Interrupting communications severs people from emergency services, disrupts supply chains, and cripples financial networks,” said Rina Tandon, an analyst at a global digital rights group. “In Afghanistan, where institutions are fragile and many citizens already rely on informal systems, the harm is immediate and deep.”
Diplomatic unease and local anxiety
Diplomatic and industry sources had said the cut was ordered by the Taliban administration, a claim the movement has not publicly confirmed. International diplomats privately expressed alarm over the lack of transparency. The United Nations had called for services to be reinstated, warning of “serious humanitarian and human rights implications” if access to communications remained limited.
For ordinary Afghans the outage reinforced a sense of uncertainty. “Even when the lights come back on, you don’t know if they will go out again,” said Fatima, a teacher in Herat, who asked that only her first name be used for safety reasons. “We have to plan for long nights without internet, and that changes everything from how we do business to how our children study.”
Economic toll and technical questions
Analysts say the short-term economic toll — lost transactions, delayed remittances, and frozen investment flows — can add up quickly in an economy already in crisis. Afghanistan’s financial system is fragile, and many institutions have little redundancy for large-scale communications interruptions.
Telecom companies have not publicly detailed the technical causes of the suspension. Restoring mobile networks and internet backbone services can be complex, involving everything from switching equipment to regulatory directives. Industry engineers familiar with Afghanistan’s networks said that deliberate shutdowns can be executed by ordering operators to cease service or by cutting key links at data centers and border exchanges.
Whether the outage was driven by operational failure or a political decision, the effect was the same: millions of Afghans temporarily lost reliable contact with the outside world and with essential services.
What comes next?
As connectivity returns, users and rights groups are pressing for accountability and safeguards. They want publicly documented procedures, clarity on who can order such measures, and independent oversight to prevent arbitrary or discriminatory cuts.
The episode also raises broader questions for the international community: how to respond to communication shutdowns in states run by unrecognized or partially recognized authorities; how to protect vulnerable populations who rely on digital lifelines; and how to bolster resilient systems that can withstand political interference.
For many Afghans the immediate concerns are practical: restoring teacher-student routines, reconnecting businesses with suppliers, and ensuring remittances flow unhindered. For others, the return of service will be a provisional relief, shadowed by the knowledge that access to information and education can be turned off again without warning.
“We need guarantees, not just temporary fixes,” said the Kabul student. “When the world depends on the internet, cutting it off is cutting off our future.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
