Overview

• Independent monitor NetBlocks recorded national connectivity collapsing to about 14% of normal, with some reports citing levels below 1%, and said the disruption was an intentional disconnection.
• Mobile and fixed-line phone services were also hit as traffic runs over fiber, with AFP losing contact with its Kabul bureau and TOLO reporting on-air interruptions.
• A government official told AFP the shutdown will last until further notice and warned that banking, customs and other critical sectors will be affected.
• The blackout caps weeks of stepwise fiber cuts ordered by Hibatullah Akhundzada to prevent “vice,” starting in provinces such as Balkh, Badakhshan, Takhar, Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Uruzgan.
• Rights groups and foreign officials condemned the move, as women, remote workers and students who relied on broadband reported immediate losses of income and access to education.