\n
<\/p>\n
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on Taliban leaders to immediately and fully restore Internet and telecommunications services.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs of yesterday, 1700 hours, we were informed that the telecommunications and fibreoptic connectivity in Afghanistan is going to be suspended until further notice<\/strong>,\u201d said the top UN official in the country, Indrika Ratwatte, via a patchy satellite video link from Kabul.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rest of the country is completely cut off right now, by and large<\/strong>,\u201d he explained, adding that connectivity has been lost with aid teams in the \u201cdeep field\u201d who are delivering assistance to survivors of last month\u2019s quake in eastern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t have connectivity with them,\u201d he stressed, highlighting needs among families originally from hillside villages who now live in crowded informal settlements on the valley floor in Kunar province.<\/p>\n In one community, Mr. Ratwatte met one woman who had lost 11 members of her family. \u201cThe trauma is quite immense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cvice\u201d and immorality in the light of their strict interpretation of Sharia law.<\/p>\n The work of UN humanitarians has been also set back by the de facto authorities\u2019\u00a0ban on women nationals on staff from entering its premises, earlier this month.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 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<\/strong>,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe winter is not anymore on the way, it’s upon us,\u201d Mr. Ratwatte warned, stressing the need to insulate shelters for displaced people and provide warm clothing amid plummeting temperatures.<\/p>\n Discussions are underway with the de facto authorities in Kabul to seek a waiver to provide \u201ccritical connectivity\u201d with aid teams, but the situation has complicated an already \u201cdire\u201d situation in Afghanistan.<\/p>\nTotal shutdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Waiver discussions<\/h2>\n