Pakistan, Oct. 2 -- Afghanistan's sudden plunge into digital silence this week was not a moral crusade, nor an accident of "decaying fibre," as the Taliban's spokesman claimed. It was the deliberate use of a nationwide communications shutdown at a moment of political strain, serving as yet another reminder that even the regime fears itself. Connectivity across the country collapsed to less than one per cent of normal levels, leaving 43 million Afghans stranded in the dark.

The most devastating impact was felt by women. Barred from classrooms and offices since 2021, Afghan girls had turned to online schools and remote work as their last fragile connection to learning and livelihood. When the Taliban severed the internet across multiple pr...