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Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday, after Taliban authorities cut the fibre optic network.
Taliban authorities began shutting down high-speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent “vice”.
On Monday night, mobile phone signal and internet service gradually weakened until connectivity was less than 1 per cent of ordinary levels, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks.
It is the first time since the Taliban government won its insurgency in 2021 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law that communications have been shut down in the country.
“We are blind without phones and internet,” said 42-year-old shopkeeper Najibullah in Kabul. “All our business relies on mobiles. The deliveries are with mobiles. It’s like a holiday, everyone is at home. The market is totally frozen.”
In the minutes before it happened, a government official warned that fibre optic would be cut, affecting mobile phone services too. “Eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars” would be shut down, he said, adding that the blackout would last “until further notice”.
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