Residents in Afghanistan’s border provinces of Herat, Nimruz and Badakhshan who managed to make calls using Iranian and Tajik SIM cards said most Afghans had no idea what had happened during Monday night’s communications blackout.

From 5 p.m. on 29 September, fibre-optic services were cut nationwide, followed by a complete shutdown of all telecommunications, including regular phone calls.

Those able to contact Afghanistan International said no form of communication is currently functioning inside the country, leaving people in confusion and uncertainty.

Sources within the Taliban’s Ministry of Communications and the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) said the shutdown was carried out under a direct order from Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.