...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...unexpectedly cut off the internet and phone networks.
| The key point being that the Taliban government shut it down intentionally. |
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
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
and Kandahar travelled to border towns to pick up signal from neighbouring Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
and Pakistain.
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
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
'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
...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network...., who advocates a pragmatic approach to running the country.
As of Thursday, the Taliban authorities had still yet to comment on the shutdown.
'A RETURN TO CANDLELIGHT?'
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.
| The Prophet Mohammed did not have internet-assisted banking, so why should you? |
In the half-deserted streets, Taliban security personnel communicated via walkie-talkies.
"I've worked in security for 14 years and I've never seen anything like this," he said on condition of anonymity.
"What next? Are we going to cut off the electricity and go back to candlelight?" added another civil servant, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
Did the Prophet Mohammed have electricity? No he did not. It is blasphemous to want things the prophet did not, and you know how we treat blasphemers here.
Domestic and international flights were also grounded, but with no way to be warned, passengers continued to flock to airports.
Hospital emergency rooms lacked both staff and patients — as many Afghans were too frightened to travel.
Doctor Sultan Aamad Atef, Afghanistan's only neurologist, saw a 30% drop in visits.
"Without online appointments, patients have to show up spontaneously and hope I can take them, or wait, sometimes for nothing," he told AFP.
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Afghanistan: 2025-10-02 Internet and Telecom Networks Restored in Afghanistan After 72-Hour Blackout
Afghanistan: 2025-10-02 sheikh Osama al-Odah, as an advocate for peace - come on!
Afghanistan: 2025-10-01 Pakistan conducts airstrikes on TTP hideouts in Shinwar and Achin districts, Nangarhar, Afghanistan