48 Hours Of Confusion In Afghanistan During Internet Blackout...

Error 404: 48 Hours Of Confusion In Afghanistan 

During Internet Blackout Paralysed banks, grounded planes and chaotic hospitals: for two days, life ground to a halt in Afghanistan after the Taliban unexpectedly cut off the internet and phone networks. Authorities had for weeks been restricting broadband access in several provinces to prevent "vice" on the orders of the Taliban's supreme leader. But no one in Kabul was prepared for a nationwide shutdown. Young Kabulis first travelled to high points in the mountainous capital, phones raised skyward, hoping to catch a signal. Then they tried buying SIM cards from different operators -- before giving up. For Afghanistan's 48 million people, it became impossible to send news to their relatives or receive precious remittances from abroad to pay their bills.Some residents of Herat and Kandahar travelled to border towns to pick up signal from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. But for the rest of the country, with no news from the outside world, rumours swelled to the rhythm of helicopters."The Americans are going to retake Bagram Air Base!" whispered the streets, after US president Donald Trump's recent calls to have the US-built facility returned. Others wondered, incorrectly, that the reclusive Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and loyalists had replaced Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who advocates a pragmatic approach to running the country. As of Thursday, the Taliban authorities had still yet to comment on the shutdown. Across the country, one of the poorest in the world, banking systems stopped functioning and the informal money exchange system used by much of the nation also broke down. "Cash withdrawals, card payments, fund transfers -- everything relies on the internet. We can't do anything without it," a private bank manager told AFP. For Afghans, there was no choice but to survive on whatever cash they had on hand. Source