The Taliban administration has ordered internet service providers to cut residential fiber internet access across Kabul, marking a dramatic escalation in the group's efforts to isolate Afghanistan from the outside world.
The directive came from Mullah Abdul Ahad Fazli, a former Helmand field commander recently appointed Minister of Telecommunications and Technology by Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. The internet shutdown follows by days an eight-hour raid on Moby Media Group, Afghanistan's largest media company, suggesting a coordinated campaign to control information flows.
Technical Infrastructure Under Taliban Control
The shutdown targets household internet connections specifically, leaving mobile networks and some business connections temporarily operational. According to sources familiar with Taliban telecommunications policy, the administration has been developing surveillance capabilities with potential assistance from regional partners.
Former Afghan officials reported that Taliban intelligence participated directly in ordering the cutoff, working alongside the telecommunications ministry. Last year, similar Taliban-ordered blackouts paralyzed banking systems, airport operations, and even portions of the Taliban's own administrative functions in Kabul.
Afghan technology experts have warned that the Taliban regime has been working on surveillance applications for mobile devices, following models used by authoritarian governments elsewhere in the region. The recently launched "National RTA Keyboard Software" for Android and iOS raised immediate red flags among digital security specialists.
Impact on Ordinary Afghans
For millions of Afghans, internet access represents the last remaining connection to family members abroad, educational resources, and economic opportunities. Kabul residents reported confusion and frustration as connections went dark without warning or explanation.
"We use the internet for everything—to talk to my brother in Germany, to help my son with online tutoring, to receive money transfers," said one Kabul resident who requested anonymity for security reasons. "Without it, we are completely cut off."
The timing coincides with other isolating measures. The Taliban ministries of Foreign Affairs and Higher Education have stopped confirming academic records for Afghan students seeking education abroad, ignoring verification requests from international universities. Sources within Afghanistan's diaspora community report fears that citizenship services for Afghans abroad may be next.
Coordinated Media Crackdown
The internet shutdown cannot be separated from last week's raid on Moby Media Group, which operates television channels and radio stations reaching millions of Afghans. During the eight-hour operation, Taliban forces detained journalists, producers, administrators, and female staff while systematically searching phones, servers, hard drives, and internal data systems.
The raid represented an unprecedented level of intrusion into Afghanistan's already restricted media landscape. Moby Media Group, founded in 2002, survived multiple transitions of power but now faces systematic dismantling under Taliban rule.
Press freedom organizations immediately condemned the raid, though their ability to monitor conditions inside Afghanistan has been severely constrained since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Deepening Internal Control
Analysts suggest the escalation reflects growing internal tensions within Taliban leadership and increasing public frustration with economic collapse and rights restrictions. Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada appears to view media access and telecommunications as threats to centralized control.
The appointment of Mullah Abdul Ahad Fazli, a battlefield commander with no telecommunications experience, signals prioritization of loyalty and control over technical competence. His first actions—the Moby raid and internet shutdown—establish a pattern of information suppression.
For Afghan civilians, particularly women already facing systematic exclusion from education and most employment, the internet represented one of few remaining windows to the outside world. That window is now closing.
In Afghanistan, as across conflict zones, the story is ultimately about ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances. As the Taliban tightens control over information and connectivity, millions of Afghans face deepening isolation from family, opportunity, and the possibility of documenting their own reality.
