Afghans rely on Kabul-based startup for real-time security alerts amid Taliban takeover

Frantic Afghans after the swift takeover of the country by the Taliban are using a Kabul-based startup, ‘Ehtesab’ that relies on crowdsourced reports from users to assist people. As per Rest of World and the official website of Ehtesab, the app feeds information related to issues such as electricity outages to bombings to traffic jams from vetted users to send out push notifications as an alert to the citizens. Ehtesab means “accountability” in Dari and Pashto. 

As per The Verge report, the app was formally launched in March 2020 and it offers streamlined security-related information including other general security. Through Ehtesab’s real-time crowdsourced alerts, its users across the war-torn country can track bomb blasts, roadblocks, electricity outages among other problems in their vicinity. According to Rest of World, the app alerting people about the security risks is reportedly supported by 20 employees working out of the company’s office in the Afghan capital, Kabul. It is founded by Sara Wahedi, who along with her staff is working remotely amid the present situation.

Ehtesab avoids mentioning the Taliban in updates

Wahedi told the Rest of World that even the Ehtesab staff were surprised by how rapidly the Ashraf Ghani-led government fell to the Taliban. Notably, the app tries to prevent itself from mentioning the Taliban in the security updates and information is provided ‘discreetly.’ 

As per Rest of World, for instance, Wahedi explained that “a roadblock may indicate that there might be danger, but of course we can’t directly say that there is danger. If we are accused of constructing a narrative against the government, then we can assert that we provided information about a roadblock and nothing else, since it affects people’s movement. That is the strategy we are adopting.”

“We are not political, we are not affiliated with anyone, but that doesn’t mean we should lose our aim of providing information to residents in Kabul as needed,” Wahedi told Rest of World.

Ehtesab founder also said that it has become more and more challenging to get information in and out of Kabul, especially in recent days. However, Wahedi reportedly said that she feels there is a responsibility towards the younger generation in Afghanistan who “have grown up in war.” She also noted that silence “gives the Taliban an upper hand.”

IMAGE: AP