By ordering the shutdown of phone and internet networks, the Taliban seemed to revert to the past for 48 hours, cutting off millions of Afghans from the outside world. Afghans were unable to communicate with anyone inside or outside of their borders, which caused panic to spread around the world as friends, family, and coworkers discovered that a whole country had gone dark.
Enterprises came to a complete stop, flights to and from major airports were canceled, money markets failed, banking services stopped, and enterprises and assistance organizations lost touch with their employees and clients.
According to Hewad Watander, a writer in Kabul who writes under a pen name to protect himself from Taliban reprisals, “the biggest despair was that people feared Afghanistan had once again been plunged into conflict.
Two weeks prior, northern Taliban authorities claimed to have blocked internet access in a number of provinces “to prevent immoral activities.” As the spokesperson for the governor of northern Balkh province, Haji Zaid stated that a “alternative system will be established within the country for essential needs.”
He claimed that Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban and a strong, solitary leader who issues decrees from the southern city of Kandahar, gave the order.
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