Taliban levy tariffs on humanitarian aid, report says

According to a report, the militant Islamist Taliban who rule Afghanistan benefit financially from US development aid. Since taking power in August 2021, the US government has sought to support Afghanistan without providing benefits to the “Taliban regime”.

This is according to a report published Wednesday evening by the US Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan (SIGAR). “However, our work shows that the Taliban are using various methods to divert US aid funds,” it said.

For example, the Taliban levy duties and taxes on imported aid. While this had already been done by the Western-backed republic under then-President Ashraf Ghani, the Islamists had “gone a step further”. The report also alleges that minorities are sometimes excluded from aid. About $8 billion in US aid has flowed to Afghanistan since the takeover. After the chaotic withdrawal of their armed forces in August 2021, Western states stressed that humanitarian aid should not flow directly into the pockets of the Taliban.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is considered precarious, with about two-thirds of the population dependent on aid, according to the UN. The economy has collapsed. Taliban rule has recently become more authoritarian and dogmatic. The fiercely criticized work ban for women, which also affects Afghan employees of international aid organizations, recently led to a discussion about ending the UN support mission. The UN wants to evaluate its work in the country in early May.

(yam/sda/dpa)