Taliban Cuts Afghanistan’s Internet in Total Blackout
🚨BREAKING: Afghanistan Goes Dark – Taliban Cuts ALL Internet in Nationwide Blackout Over “Immorality”
EXCLUSIVE: 40 Million People Suddenly Offline as Taliban Severs Fiber-Optic Cables – Flights Cancelled, Banking Frozen
KABUL, September 30, 2025 — Afghanistan has plunged into a total internet blackout after Taliban authorities severed the country’s fiber-optic connections, cutting off 40 million people from the digital world in what they call a fight against “immorality.”
International news agencies report they’ve lost all contact with offices in Kabul. Mobile internet has collapsed. Satellite TV signals are dead. Phone services are disrupted.
And the Taliban say this shutdown will last “until further notice.”
It’s the most extreme digital isolation imposed by any government since North Korea – and it happened virtually overnight.
⚡ THE DIGITAL GUILLOTINE: How Afghanistan Went Dark
Around 5:00 PM local time Monday (12:30 GMT), fiber-optic internet across Afghanistan simply stopped working.
Internet watchdog Netblocks confirmed what Afghans were experiencing in real-time:
“Afghanistan is now in the midst of a total internet blackout as Taliban authorities move to implement morality measures, with multiple networks disconnected through the morning in a stepwise manner.”
The blackout happened in waves. One network after another went dark through the morning and afternoon until the entire country was offline.
Because the shutdown occurred toward the end of the working day, many Afghans won’t fully grasp the catastrophic impact until Tuesday morning when they try to:
- Access banking services (won’t work)
- Process business transactions (impossible)
- Communicate with the outside world (completely cut off)
- Use mobile payment systems (dead)
💥 FLIGHTS GROUNDED: Kabul Airport in Chaos
The digital blackout has cascading effects beyond internet access.
According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, at least eight flights scheduled to depart from or arrive at Kabul International Airport on Tuesday have been cancelled.
Without internet connectivity, modern aviation systems that rely on digital communications for flight coordination, booking systems, and passenger processing simply can’t function.
Local media report severe disruptions at the airport, with passengers stranded and airline staff unable to access critical systems.
🔥 THE TALIBAN’S JUSTIFICATION: Fighting “Immorality”
For weeks, the Taliban have been systematically cutting fiber-optic internet connections in various Afghan provinces.
Their stated reason? Preventing “immorality.”
The Taliban believe internet access enables behaviors they consider un-Islamic under their strict interpretation of Sharia law:
- Communication between unrelated men and women
- Access to entertainment they deem immoral
- Exposure to Western ideas and values
- Women accessing information independently
A Taliban official confirmed Monday that the telecommunications shutdown would continue “until further notice” – offering no timeline for when or if connectivity might be restored.
They promised to create an “alternative route for internet access” but provided zero details about what that means or when it might happen.
💔 BUSINESS APOCALYPSE: “Our Activities Will Be Seriously Hit”
Business leaders had been sounding alarms for weeks as regional internet disruptions spread.
Their warnings proved prophetic. With nationwide blackout now reality, Afghanistan’s already struggling economy faces potential collapse.
WHAT’S NOW IMPOSSIBLE: ❌ Banking transactions and ATM withdrawals
❌ Digital payment systems
❌ International business communications
❌ Supply chain coordination
❌ E-commerce of any kind
❌ Remote work and freelancing
❌ Money transfers and remittances
Afghanistan’s economy was already in freefall after international sanctions and aid withdrawal following the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. This blackout could be the final blow for many businesses.
📺 MEDIA BLACKOUT: Even State TV Struggling
Tolo News, a privately owned Afghan news channel, told viewers to follow its social media pages for updates – acknowledging it expects disruptions to television and radio networks.
Think about that: Even the Taliban-approved media outlets can’t fully operate without internet infrastructure.
International news agencies report they’ve completely lost contact with their Kabul offices. No emails. No messaging apps. No video calls. Total silence.
The world’s window into Afghanistan has slammed shut.
🌍 “LONELINESS ENVELOPED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY”
Hamid Haidari, former editor-in-chief of Afghan news channel 1TV, captured the moment perfectly:
“Loneliness enveloped the entire country.”
He added darkly: “Afghanistan has now officially taken first place in the competition with North Korea for [internet] disconnection.”
That’s not hyperbole. Afghanistan just became the second most digitally isolated country on Earth after North Korea.
Mariam Solaimankhil, former member of Afghanistan’s parliament now based in the US, wrote in desperation:
“The silence online without Afghan voices from inside Afghanistan is deafening.”
She tagged Elon Musk in her post – a plea to the X owner to somehow help restore connectivity. But even Musk’s Starlink satellite internet would require Taliban cooperation to deploy.
⚔️ THE PATTERN OF REPRESSION: Latest in Brutal Crackdown
This blackout isn’t happening in isolation. It’s the latest move in the Taliban’s systematic elimination of freedoms since retaking power in 2021.
RECENT RESTRICTIONS: 📚 Earlier this month: Removed all books written by women from university curricula
📚 Education ban: Teaching of human rights and sexual harassment now outlawed
👩🎓 Girls’ education: Barred from school beyond age 12
👶 Midwifery courses: Quietly shut down in late 2024, eliminating women’s last training route
📱 Now: Total internet blackout
Women and girls have been particularly devastated. An entire generation of Afghan girls is growing up without education, without internet access, without any connection to the world beyond Taliban control.
📊 THE FIBER-OPTIC LIFELINE: What Taliban Just Severed
Fiber-optic cables are the backbone of modern internet infrastructure. They transfer data at the speed of light and form the foundation of global connectivity.
By physically severing these cables, the Taliban haven’t just blocked websites – they’ve destroyed the physical infrastructure that enables internet access.
This isn’t like China’s “Great Firewall” that filters and censors content while keeping connectivity alive. This is complete digital isolation.
Rebuilding will require not just policy changes but massive physical infrastructure repair – assuming the Taliban ever allows it.
🚀 WHAT THIS MEANS FOR 40 MILLION AFGHANS
Let’s be clear about the human impact:
Students: Can’t access online educational resources
Families: Can’t contact relatives who fled abroad
Businesses: Can’t conduct transactions or communicate with partners
Journalists: Can’t report on what’s happening inside Afghanistan
Human rights activists: Can’t document Taliban abuses
Aid workers: Can’t coordinate relief efforts
Women: Lose one of their few remaining connections to outside world
For many Afghans, especially women banned from public life, the internet was their last lifeline to education, work, and the outside world.
The Taliban just cut that lifeline.
🎭 THE HISTORICAL PARALLEL: North Korea 2.0
Afghanistan joins an exclusive club of digitally isolated nations:
- North Korea – Nearly total internet blackout for decades
- Afghanistan – Now in total blackout (NEW)
- Eritrea – Extremely limited connectivity
Every other country on Earth, including the most authoritarian regimes, maintains at least some level of internet access – even if heavily censored.
The Taliban have decided even censorship isn’t enough. They want complete digital darkness.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE: A Nation Disappeared
As of Tuesday morning, Afghanistan has effectively vanished from the digital world.
You can’t:
- Email someone in Kabul
- Video call family in Afghanistan
- Read news from Afghan journalists on the ground
- Hear firsthand accounts from Afghan citizens
- Transfer money to relatives in Afghanistan
- Do business with Afghan companies
The Taliban have created a digital prison for 40 million people.
And they say it will last “until further notice.”
DEVELOPING CRISIS — Limited reporting possible. Updates when information emerges from Afghanistan…
