Internet access was restored across Afghanistan on Wednesday, two days after a sudden, nationwide shutdown paralyzed the economy, grounded planes and led to swirling rumors about the reasons behind the blackout.
The internet outage, coupled with a suspension of cellphone services, deepened a sense of dread and uncertainty for millions of Afghans who were already feeling isolated under the Taliban government, which has imposed drastic restrictions on individuals freedoms since it took over in 2021. As of Wednesday, most Afghans still didn’t know what had happened. Afghan officials either didn’t respond to requests for comment or said they didn’t know the reasons behind the internet shutdown or the resumption of services.
“I still don’t have the reason for the internet cut off,” Inayatullah Alokozay, the spokesman for the Afghan ministry of telecommunications, said.
The shutdown came a few weeks after the country’s leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, ordered a crackdown on the internet that was then implemented in about half of the country’s 34 provinces.
At the time, mobile internet remained available, but on Monday, all forms of telecommunications went offline.
Kabul, a city of six million, was plunged into an eerie quiet for two days. Security forces were deployed across key areas, while government employees and residents said they were befuddled by the shutdown.
Banks remained closed, and public offices no longer delivered key documents, like passports and national I.D. cards. Businesses were brought to a halt, and hundreds of thousands of girls, who have been barred from going to school by the Taliban and rely on the internet for online education, were cut off from the rest of the world.
Others faced life-threatening situations.
Jawad Mohammadi, a resident in Mazar-a-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, had traveled to Kabul with this brother who was suffering from severe kidney stones and needed to be hospitalized. Doctors had recommended immediate surgery, but Mr. Mohammadi, 37, was struggling to gather funds from relatives.
“The hospital refuses to proceed with the operation unless we pay in advance,” he said. “I have no other options and don’t know what to do.”
Francesca Regalado contributed reporting.
Elian Peltier is an international correspondent for The Times, covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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