'Back to Dark Ages': Kabul Reportedly Faces Blackout Due to Taliban's Failure to Pay Bills

Following the swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban*, the humanitarian situation has worsened in the Central Asian country. Now, along with a cash shortage and national currency crisis, Afghanistan may be facing even more problems.

The Afghan capital city of Kabul may be facing a blackout due to the Taliban's inability to pay its bills, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the ex-chief executive of the country’s state power company.

The potential blackout may hit the Central Asian nation just before winter, most likely resulting in yet another humanitarian disaster, according to Daud Noorzai, former head of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat. He stepped down from his position some two weeks after the Taliban established control over the country.

"The consequences would be countrywide, but especially in Kabul. There will be [a] blackout and it would bring Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages when it comes to power and to telecommunications", said Noorzai, who is said to be in contact with the current management of the state energy company. "This would be a really dangerous situation".

According to the report, half of the electricity for Afghanistan's power consumption is imported from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, while Iran also supplies power to the country's western parts. This year's drought has affected domestic production and, given the lack of a national power grid in Afghanistan, the Afghan capital is dependent on supplies from other Central Asian countries.

The warnings come as calls continue to be made for the United States and its allies to step up and cover part of the costs of Afghanistan's reconstruction after the Taliban takeover, particularly from Moscow.

While the winter may reportedly become darker for the Central Asian country, the Taliban said in late September that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) humanitarian organisation had pledged to deliver humanitarian aid to the nation during the winter period. The militants also said that Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organisation, will also continue working in Afghanistan.

*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other countries.