![\"Men](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/skynews-afghanistan-internet_7037108.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAn internet and mobile phone blackout has hit Afghanistan, as part of a Taliban crackdown on immorality.<\/p>\n
Internet connectivity in Afghanistan had flatlined to about 1%, said NetBlocks, an international internet access monitoring organisation.<\/p>\n
“The incident is likely to severely limit the public’s ability to contact the outside world,” it added.<\/p>\n
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Image:
\n Men in the Afghan capital try to connect their smart TV at home to the internet. Pic: Reuters<\/p>\n
It is the first time Afghanistan has experienced a shutdown of this scale since the former insurgents seized power in August 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, several provinces lost some fibre-optic connections after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree banning the service to prevent immorality.<\/p>\n Private channel Tolo News, which warned viewers of a disruption to its services, said authorities had set a one-week deadline for the shutdown of 3G and 4G internet services for mobile phones, leaving only the older 2G standard active.<\/p>\n Connectivity was cut in phases on Monday, with the final stage affecting telephone services, which share infrastructure with the internet.<\/p>\n Kabul<\/a>, the capital, suffered the sharpest drop in internet connectivity, followed by the western city of Herat and Kandahar in the south.<\/p>\n Follow the World<\/p>\n Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday<\/p>\n Tap to follow<\/a><\/p>\n Last week, a teacher in Afghanistan shared with Sky News how a wifi switch-off in her area was “extinguishing the only light that still reaches us”<\/a>.<\/p>\n She said: “This is more than a technical disruption – it’s a rupture in the lifeline we’ve built together. In this difficult moment, we need each other more than ever to stay strong, to stay hopeful.”<\/p>\n Analysts have warned cutting internet connectivity will further curtail the ability of girls to seek an education, as some had turned to the internet since the Taliban returned to power.<\/p>\n![\"Follow](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/skynews-yalda-podcast_6910436.jpg\")
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