Afghanistan remains in digital darkness amid unexplained service cutoff

ISLAMABAD

Internet and mobile phone networks remained shut down across Afghanistan on Tuesday, leaving millions without access to communication, while the interim administration authorities have yet to issue any public explanation.

The outage, which began late Monday, is ongoing across the country, the local broadcaster Tolo News reported.

The interim administration authorities have yet to issue any public explanation.

However, according to NetBlocks, a global network monitoring group, connectivity dropped to near zero, with both internet and phone services disabled in stages throughout the night.

"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; telephone services are currently also impacted," NetBlocks said through the US social media company X.

Afghan interim administration chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to queries by Anadolu regarding the reason for the nationwide internet shutdown.

The disruption also affected flight operations at Kabul airport.

On Monday, Tolo News reported that the fiber-optic internet services would be shut down nationwide in the afternoon, with broadcasts of Moby Group’s television and radio networks -- including TOLOnews TV, TOLO TV, LEMAR TV, Arman FM, and Arakozia FM -- expected to face disruptions.