The United Nations mission in Afghanistan issued an urgent plea to the Taliban on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, demanding the restoration of internet and telecommunications services nationwide. This widespread blackout, enforced by authorities in Kabul, has effectively isolated the country from global connectivity.
This unprecedented outage, initially reported the previous day, marks the first nationwide internet shutdown since the Taliban reassumed control in August 2021. It reportedly stems from their declared campaign against ‘immorality.’ Earlier in the month, a decree from Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada banned fiber-optic services in several provinces, citing the same reason.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated that this disruption gravely jeopardizes the nation’s economic stability and worsens an already severe humanitarian crisis, recognized as one of the most critical globally.
UNAMA further warned that the ongoing blackout is severely impacting banking and financial operations, exacerbating the isolation of women and girls, hindering access to essential medical services and vital remittances, and causing significant disruptions to aviation.
The UN emphasized that these restrictions are not only undermining fundamental freedoms of expression and the right to information but also proving detrimental during times of crisis. Afghanistan has recently endured major earthquakes in its eastern regions and is grappling with the challenges of widespread forced returns of its citizens from neighboring countries, situations where reliable communication is paramount.
The UN mission highlighted that the internet outage, initially imposed by the Taliban on September 16, had progressively expanded to become a nationwide shutdown by September 29. The mission reiterated its commitment to continuously urge Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to reinstate internet access, acting in solidarity with the Afghan populace.