Mobile phone services restored as Afghan truce holds

kunduz — Mobile phone services were restored across swathes of Taleban-contested areas of Afghanistan over the weekend as a partial truce with the militants held for a second day.

The Taleban, US and Afghan forces are currently overseeing a week-long “reduction in violence” that kicked off on Saturday.

The commitment has seen fighting drop dramatically and is set to pave the way for an American withdrawal deal to be signed later this week.

There have been reports of small clashes in rural areas, but no major attacks that have long defined the conflict have erupted, allowing telecoms operators to restore networks.

“For almost three years, all the telecom networks were not working at night in Kunduz province due to the Taleban threats,” said Akhtar Mohammad, the head of provincial telecommunication offices, saying most networks had now been restored.

An official in the Badghis also said mobile networks were up and running, while a source confirmed that progress was being made elsewhere in the country to restore coverage.

The Taleban have long targeted Afghanistan’s private telecom firms, kidnapping engineers, destroying transmission masts and forcing regular coverage blackouts in volatile areas to avoid detection of their fighters.

Afghanistan boasts millions of mobile users in a population of 30 million, with the fast-growing industry employing around 200,000 people and earning strong revenue in an otherwise moribund economy. Thousands of telecommunication towers, however, are in insurgency-hit areas and vulnerable to attacks.

The partial truce is expected to set the conditions for Washington and the insurgents to sign a deal in Doha on February 29 that could, ultimately, pull US troops out after more than 18 years and launch war-weary Afghanistan into an uncertain future.

A successful week would demonstrate that the Taleban have command and control of their forces, and it would also be a show of good faith before signing any deal. —