Afghanistan: Internet and Mobile Services Restored – ‘We Are Alive Again,’ Celebrate Kabul Residents

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Wednesday (October 1, 2025), celebrating the restoration of internet and mobile phone services. Two days after communications were abruptly cut nationwide by Taliban authorities, roads filled with residents sharing news on their phones and drivers honking in joy, according to AFP journalists. “The city is alive again,” said restaurant owner Mohammad Tawab Farooq, checking his mobile phone. After nearly two days of nationwide telecom blackout, internet and mobile networks have resumed in Kabul and several provinces including Khost, Kandahar, Ghazni, and Herat, sparking scenes of jubilation. Chaos spread across the country on Monday when mobile and internet services suddenly stopped. Banks, post offices, markets, and hospitals faced severe disruptions, with doctors unable to access patient records. On Tuesday, all flights from Kabul airport were canceled. The Taliban regime had begun restricting high-speed internet in recent weeks under orders from supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, citing moral concerns. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring and cybersecurity group, described the outage as a ‘deliberate service disruption’ and reported that internet connectivity in Afghanistan had dropped to just 1% of normal levels. Yesterday, the United Nations called on the Taliban government to immediately restore full internet and telecom access across the country. This marks the first time since the Taliban seized power in 2021 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law that nationwide communications have been completely severed.