A two-day internet blackout shows even the Taliban can’t turn back time

For 48 hours, the Taliban appeared to turn back the clock in Afghanistan with a directive to cut off the internet and phone networks, disconnecting millions of people from the world outside. Afghans lost the ability to contact anyone within or beyond their borders, sending waves of panic worldwide as families, colleagues and friends realized an entire nation had gone dark.

Banking services froze, businesses ground to a halt, flights to and from major airports were canceled, money markets failed, and companies and aid groups lost contact with clients and staff. “The greatest despair was that people feared Afghanistan had once again been plunged into conflict,” reported Hewad Watander, a journalist in the capital Kabul, who uses a pen name to avoid Taliban retribution.

“People appeared as if their spirits had left their bodies. Any sense of hope seemed to have completely vanished.”

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