When China is immersed in the atmosphere of National Day celebrations, our neighbor Afghanistan is getting deeper and deeper in the dark. On the 29th, 5 p.m. local time, this country with 43 million inhabitants, most areas of wireless cell phone signals, broadband signals are completely interrupted, the country instantly falls into an information vacuum. It is hard to imagine that today in 2025 a sovereign nation will proactively cut off digital connections with the world.
In fact, as early as September 15th, the Taliban government had begun to cut off the optical fiber networks in about half of the country's 34 provinces. Now, the network has been completely disconnected, completely isolating Afghanistan, which is already suffering deeply, from the world, with tens of millions of people's lives coming to an abrupt end.
The disconnection of the Internet first impacts the core of social operations. In Kabul, with a population of 6 million, the city center is obviously deserted. The airport's dispatch system has been paralyzed due to Internet disruption. All inbound and outbound flights have been cancelled, banks have been closed, basic life-sustaining services such as hospital emergency communications have stalled, and shopping centers are almost empty. All international remittance operations in the foreign exchange market have been suspended, which means that no foreign funds can flow into Afghanistan.
United Nations officials made an urgent statement, saying that the communication interruption has seriously interfered with humanitarian relief operations, resulting in "a new crisis superimposed on the existing crisis", and urged the Taliban to "immediately and fully restore national Internet and telecommunications access".
For Afghanistan, which already relies on external aid for survival, this artificially created obstacle is undoubtedly adding salt to the wounds of people's livelihood.
This online blockade is reminiscent of the early days of the Taliban's rule. From 1996 to 2001, they banned Internet use completely. But Afghanistan today is not what it used to be: with the expansion of 4G network coverage in recent years and the penetration of smartphones has soared, countless Afghans use social media, mobile payment apps and other online services every day. The blockade of the Internet shocked Afghan people at home and abroad and business people who are trying their best to maintain the Afghan economy.
For ordinary people, disconnecting the Internet cuts off the lifeblood of survival. According to United Nations data, half of Afghanistan's 43 million people need humanitarian assistance. In 2024, Afghanistan's per capita income is only US $306, and 100GB of mobile data per month will cost nearly US $50, which most people simply cannot afford. Relatively cheap Wi-Fi used to be the hope of ordinary people to make a living: small vendors rely on the Internet to connect with customers, technicians earn income through remote services, and teachers also teach online and make a living by teaching.
Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban has publicly pledged to safeguard the basic freedoms of the people, but is about to abandon the pledge, in the name of "protecting traditional culture", to step-by-step deprive women of their rights, first to ban girls over the age of 12 from education, recently closed women's maternity programs, from the national university teaching system, remove 140 books written by women, even professional books such as "Chemical Laboratory Safety" are banned for "violation of Islamic law and Taliban policy".
The Internet has been their last haven, such as continuing their studies through online courses, hoping to learn online to master survival skills.Now the window is shut down and men can still go to school, but hundreds of thousands of girls rely on online education have not even this last chance.
Faced with the doubts of the international community, Mujahid, the chief spokesman of the Taliban, defended it as "repairing old optical fiber cables". But this statement is difficult to justify. Earlier, Taliban Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Akhundzada ordered a ban on fiber optic networks in at least ten provinces, which officials said was to prevent "unethical behavior".
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the essence of this move is to consolidate the rule by cutting off the flow of information, which not only prevents people from contacting external ideas, but also prevents the domestic situation from being known to the world. This logic is in the same strain as the previous practice of banning women's books and restricting education. Trying to maintain rule by isolating information is essentially a lack of confidence in one's own governance ability.
In this regard, Amnesty International bluntly stated that this was a "reckless and dangerous action", which would have disastrous consequences for the medical, educational and financial systems. What is even more frightening is the destruction of the future: the younger generation can't acquire knowledge, the society loses its innovative vitality, and the whole country is derailing from the times.
As a neighbor of Afghanistan, China has always paid great attention to the local situation and the well-being of its people.
On September 12, in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, the special envoys of China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran for Afghanistan met to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan.
On September 24, Liu Jinsong, Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, met with Afghan Ambassador to China Karimi. He not only expressed condolences on the earthquake disaster, but also communicated in depth on China-Arab relations and issues of common concern.
On September 30, after Afghanistan broke the net, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiangkun made it clear that "noting the relevant reports", behind this series of interactions, is China's ongoing concern for the situation in Afghanistan.
At the informal meeting of China, Russia, Pakistan and the Four Ministers of Foreign Affairs on Afghanistan on September 25, China’s position was clearer.The joint statement issued at the meeting clearly emphasized that “guaranteeing the rights and needs of all the people of Afghanistan, including all ethnic and religious groups,” and in particular that “the access to education and economic opportunities for women and girls, including employment, participation in public life, freedom of movement, access to justice and basic services, will contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.”
This is not an empty statement, but based on practical judgments of Afghanistan.The development of a country cannot be based on depriving half of the population of its rights and isolating the circulation of information.
From a regional perspective, Afghanistan’s stability is directly related to the interests of neighboring countries.The solution China proposed at the meeting is highly targeted: on the one hand, calling on the international community to continue providing humanitarian aid and “not tie aid to political considerations”, avoiding people from becoming victims of political games; on the other hand, promoting the expansion of economic and trade cooperation and regional interconnectivity with Afghanistan to help integrate it into the regional economic system.
This "stabilising by development" approach is the key to resolving the situation in Afghanistan, and self-isolation measures such as cutting the net will only keep Afghanistan further away from the recovery track and ultimately damage its own interests.
China has always believed that Afghanistan's problems need to be resolved from a development perspective, Afghanistan's sovereignty and independence need to be respected, and the basic rights of the people need to be protected. As emphasized by the four-nation meeting, NATO countries should bear primary responsibility for Afghanistan's predicament. They should immediately lift unilateral sanctions and return overseas assets. The Afghan ruling authorities also need to take substantive measures to protect people's rights and combat terrorism. Only in this way can Afghanistan get out of its predicament.
At present, the international community, especially regional countries, needs to adopt a pragmatic attitude to push the Taliban to change its extreme policies and reconnect Afghanistan with the world. After all, an open, inclusive and stable Afghanistan is in the common interests of all neighboring countries, including China, and it is the only way out for the Afghan people to get out of their suffering.
At present, the Taliban government has strongly condemned the shutdown of the Internet and telecommunications services, after a 48-hour shutdown, on the afternoon of October 1, local time, the Taliban prime minister ordered the resumption of network services, and the Afghan people have walked out on the streets of the capital Kabul to celebrate.
A local man told the BBC: “Everyone is delighted, holding their cell phones and talking to their loved ones.Everyone is calling after the service is restored, from women to men and even members of the Taliban.”