Afghanistan restored internet services across the country on Wednesday following a 48-hour nationwide blackout that left millions disconnected. The outage, which began on September 29, sparked confusion and speculation both domestically and internationally.
Western media outlets quickly reported that the Taliban-led government had deliberately cut off access to suppress “immoral activities” online. However, officials in Kabul have not confirmed this explanation, leaving the precise cause uncertain. Afghan media instead highlighted comments by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who last week announced the formation of a commission tasked with investigating and preventing future damage to the country’s fragile fiber optic network.
Mujahid’s statement came shortly after a major service disruption in ten northern provinces earlier in September. At the time, several Afghan activists based abroad claimed the blackout was specifically targeted at women. Kabul denied those allegations, saying the disruption was the result of technical failures. Similar outages were reported in Herat this past August, where damaged fiber lines temporarily severed internet access.
Officials in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan point to outdated infrastructure and lingering damage from the two-decade war as the likely root causes of the repeated shutdowns. Fiber optic lines across the country have long been vulnerable to both technical decay and sabotage. Still, the most recent blackout has fueled wider speculation. Some observers have suggested potential external interference, particularly given that U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened Kabul with “bad things” if Afghanistan did not agree to return Bagram Airbase to American control, which Kabul immediately rejected.
Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban government has sought to modernize Afghanistan’s digital services and governance, though progress has been uneven. Despite these efforts, the recurring internet outages highlight both the fragility of the country’s communications infrastructure and the degree to which Afghanistan’s infrastructure can break down, or possibly even tampered with.