By Bibi Amina Hakimi in TOLOnews, Auf 11, 2023
US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul criticized the intervention of the Islamic Emirate in the country’s aid to Afghanistan.
McCaul said that there is an urgent need for transparency from the Biden administration on funding to Afghanistan.
“It is despicable that US taxpayer money is lining the pockets of a terrorist group like the Taliban, which persecutes Afghan women and girls. For months, I have asked the Biden administration to explain how they will help the people of Afghanistan while keeping US money out of Taliban hands, without a response. This latest report underscores the urgent need for transparency from the Biden administration on funding to Afghanistan,” McCaul said.
“About two billion or a total of about four or five billion dollars of US aid was received by the Taliban, which means that the US strengthens the sovereignty of Afghanistan both directly and indirectly,” said Sayed Masoud, an economist.
In response to McCaul’s remarks, the Islamic Emirate said that it both ensures the security of these organizations and does not meddle in their internal matters.
“External aid is administered through institutions, and institutions have complete control over their financial issues and expenses. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has external control over them, protects the security of the institutions where help is distributed, and it cooperates with them where complaints are made for the sake of transparency. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan cooperates with institutions in distributing aid to the truly needy,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
According to some economists, the current government’s intervention in aid distribution has caused many donor countries to reduce their aid to Afghanistan.
“The intervention of the current government in the distribution of aid in Afghanistan may have a negative effect on the process and the aid may decrease,” said Sieyar Qurishi, an economist.
On Tuesday, The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report that the US remains the largest donor to the Afghan people, having appropriated more than $2.35 billion since the Islamic Emirate takeover in August 2021.
SIGAR, in its quarterly report to the US Congress, said that “Taliban interference in humanitarian assistance is the main barrier to beneficiaries accessing aid in 2023 … there were a total of 110 access incidents related to Taliban interference in April 2023 alone.”
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