Taliban internet blackout leaves Afghans in limbo while needs surge

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on Taliban leaders to immediately and fully restore Internet and telecommunications services.

“As of yesterday, 1700 hours, we were informed that the telecommunications and fibreoptic connectivity in Afghanistan is going to be suspended until further notice,” said the top UN official in the country, Indrika Ratwatte, via a patchy satellite video link from Kabul.

“The rest of the country is completely cut off right now, by and large,” he explained, adding that connectivity has been lost with aid teams in the “deep field” who are delivering assistance to survivors of last month’s quake in eastern Afghanistan.

“We don’t have connectivity with them,” he stressed, highlighting needs among families originally from hillside villages who now live in crowded informal settlements on the valley floor in Kunar province.

In one community, Mr. Ratwatte met one woman who had lost 11 members of her family. “The trauma is quite immense,” he said.

More than 43 million people in Afghanistan are now believed to be offline, after the Taliban began cutting communications cables several weeks ago, reportedly to tackle “vice” and immorality in the light of their strict interpretation of Sharia law.

The work of UN humanitarians has been also set back by the de facto authorities’ ban on women nationals on staff from entering its premises, earlier this month.

Total shutdown

In addition to impacting the work of the UN and partner organizations, the internet shutdown has affected health programmes, banking services and financial services, UN humanitarian coordinator Mr. Ratwatte stressed.

“At a community level, I would imagine that for normal business transactions, for banking, for cash transfers, for remittances that come from abroad, which are critical for these communities, that’s been cut off,” he explained.

One month since the 6.0 magnitude quake struck eastern regions of Afghanistan, remote communities are still struggling to recover. The disaster killed around 2,000 people and injured 3,600, damaging 8,500 homes.

“The winter is not anymore on the way, it’s upon us,” Mr. Ratwatte warned, stressing the need to insulate shelters for displaced people and provide warm clothing amid plummeting temperatures.

Waiver discussions

Discussions are underway with the de facto authorities in Kabul to seek a waiver to provide “critical connectivity” with aid teams, but the situation has complicated an already “dire” situation in Afghanistan.

“This is another crisis on top of the existing crisis…the impact is going to be on the lives of people,” Mr. Ratwatte stressed.

He highlighted how the development would also impact critical medical services, supply chains and vaccinations. “Assistance that keeps the basic essential services functioning in the country is going to be impacted”, the UN aid coordinator continued, noting that connectivity with the rest of the world had also been impacted.

“Flights have been cancelled, international flights are not coming in today,” he said.