Afghanistan Faces Widespread Disruption Amid Taliban Internet Shutdown, Grounding Flights
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- Afghanistan blackout: The Taliban government imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, severely affecting communication, travel, and essential services.
- Economic paralysis: The shutdown has paralyzed banking and payment systems, leading to significant economic disruption.
- Educational setback: Access to online education, a critical lifeline for many women and girls barred from in-person schooling, has been cut off by the Taliban internet ban.
A nationwide Afghanistan internet shutdown has brought the country to a standstill, crippling essential services and isolating its population. The blackout, which took effect on Monday, has caused widespread communication failures, grounding flights at Kabul's main airport and paralyzing the nation’s financial systems.
Disruption to Connectivity and Essential Services
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 showed that some canceled incoming and outgoing flights on Tuesday, with several others marked as "unknown," according to the BBC. Banks are reportedly struggling to operate, with citizens facing difficulties accessing cash.
The U.K.'s national public service broadcaster reported that one passenger was informed on Tuesday that there would be no flights to Kabul until Thursday at the earliest, while another stated that “all flights from Kabul airport had been canceled since Monday evening.” However, locals report life in Kabul "seems to be normal" despite communication being down.
The United Nations has issued a statement calling for the immediate restoration of internet access, warning that the cutoff risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people.
"The cut in access has left Afghanistan almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people, including by threatening economic stability and exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises," the UN said in a statement.
Severe Impact on Economy and Daily Life
The impact on the Afghan economy has been immediate and severe. Businesses reliant on mobile and internet-based transactions have been frozen, and money changers are unable to process payments.
"All our business relies on mobiles. The deliveries are with mobiles. It's like a holiday, everyone is at home,” a shopkeeper in Kabul told news agency AFP. “The market is totally frozen."
Diplomatic officials had previously warned that such a shutdown could destabilize banking and e-commerce systems. The move compounds the severe economic challenges facing the country.
For ordinary citizens, the lack of internet and phone service has been described as being left "blind," cutting them off from their families, workplaces, and the outside world.
Online Education Disruption and Human Rights Concerns
The shutdown delivers another blow to education, particularly for women and girls. The online education disruption eliminates one of the few remaining avenues for learning after the Taliban barred women from most forms of in-person secondary and higher education.
The need to curb "evils" was cited as a reason for previous regional internet cuts by a spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Balkh on X earlier this month, but no official reason has been given for this nationwide action.
The blackout is the latest in a series of restrictive measures imposed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Earlier this month, books written by women were removed from the country's university teaching system, and teaching human rights and sexual harassment was outlawed.
In September, Turkey blocked social media platforms as VPN usage surged, while Russia expanded internet laws to restrict searches and VPN usage.
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