The Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is facing an acute economic crisis. As the economic situation worsens, the online shopping services are getting closed in the war-ravaged South Asian nation. The Khaama Press, the largest online news service of Afghanistan, recently reported that Click.af, a well-known online shopping app, decided to stop offering online services.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the country has been experiencing political, social and economic instability. The National Economy, too, is facing the heat. Click.af, which has been associated with online product services in Afghanistan for the past six years, recently mentioned on its Facebook page that they were no longer able to continue operations due to financial issues. “The precarious economic situation, the capital flight, and the stalling of the economic cycle led sales in the market to be severely affected, and Click.af is no exception,” stated the company. Click.af Chief Masiullah Stanikzai told the press that he would not make any comment on this issue. At the same time, he expressed hope that the situation would become normal very soon.

After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan for the second time in 2021, the UN mentioned in a report that nearly 25 million Afghan people were living in extreme poverty. Another international organisation claimed that Afghanistan secured the top position in the list of the Unhappiest Countries in the world. The second report mentioned that the mental anguish and anxiety of the Afghan increased after the US withdrew its troops from the country. Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in the world in terms of physical pain, mental stress, mental disorders, triggered by poverty, unemployment, anxiety, and anger.

Baqal, another online shopping service, too, announced its closure due to financial hardships. In a message posted on its Facebook page, Baqal stated that it was a medium-sized investment that eventually collapsed as the citizens’ purchasing power turned down, and the local banks froze people’s funds in their accounts because of the limitations applied by the Taliban on the banking sector.

There have been allegations that the Taliban has restricted the Rights of Women, all across the country. Experts are of the opinion that as customers of the online product service are mostly women, the curtailment of Women’s Rights is directly linked to the declining dividends of service providers.

It may be noted that online shopping services in Afghanistan used to facilitate communications between customers and shopkeepers. However, online shopping services suffered financial losses as some other major online businesses, including an online Taxi service called Bubar, Finest superstore’s online shopping portal, and Hindukosh online shopping website, were closed within months after the collapse of the Afghanistan Republic Administration.

Currently, at least 59% of the Afghan population is in need of humanitarian assistance.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundless-ocean-of-politics

Contact: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das