Afghanistan internet restored after Taliban's unexplained 48‑hour blackout
Afghanistan's internet, which the Taliban reportedly cut citing morality concerns and which drew protests from the UN, was restored on Wednesday after a nationwide outage that lasted more than 48 hours. CBS News verified the restoration by contacting about a dozen people across the country; the shutdown had nearly paralyzed Afghanistan — grounding flights when air‑traffic control systems went offline and rendering banking services inaccessible — prompting UNAMA to warn of serious humanitarian and economic risks.
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🔍 Key Facts
- Internet services in Afghanistan were restored on Wednesday after a nationwide outage that lasted more than 48 hours.
- CBS News verified the restoration by contacting about a dozen individuals across Afghanistan.
- The blackout nearly paralyzed the country.
- Flights were halted because air‑traffic control systems were offline during the outage.
- Banking services were rendered inaccessible while the internet was down.
- The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) warned of humanitarian and economic risks resulting from the shutdown.
📍 Contextual Background
- The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.
- After capturing Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban briefly imposed an internet blackout in the capital.
- As of 2023, 18 percent of Afghanistan's population used the internet, and there were 56 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people (World Bank).
- The Taliban banned the internet during their first period of rule in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
- During the insurgency following 2001, the Taliban regularly targeted cell towers and caused mobile internet providers such as MTN to leave Afghanistan.
📰 Sources (2)
Afghanistan gets internet back after Taliban's unexplained web shutdown
New information:
- Internet services were restored on Wednesday after a nationwide outage that lasted more than 48 hours.
- CBS News verified restoration by contacting about a dozen individuals across Afghanistan.
- The blackout nearly paralyzed the country: flights were halted (air‑traffic control systems offline) and banking services were rendered inaccessible; UNAMA warned of the humanitarian and economic risks.