Mobile phone services restored as Afghan truce holds

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

The Taliban, 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. "In general we do see (a reduction in violence)," acting interior minister Masood Andrabi said.

The lull in violence allowed telecom operators to begin restoring networks across the country that have long been hampered by fighting. "Around 730 cell towers have restarted," said Naqeebullah Sailab, vice chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Afghanistan. "There are towers which started operating after almost five years."

Two separate officials with knowledge of the country´s telecoms industry in northern Afghanistan also confirmed that mobile networks were being restored in insurgent-hit areas. The Taliban 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.

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. -