John Sopko, the US Special Inspector General for Reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR), said at a summit in London that the Taliban have effectively infiltrated and influenced most United Nations-managed programmes in Afghanistan.
Sopko stressed that SIGAR has uncovered “really horrific” information about problems with the United Nations’ operations in Afghanistan.
Sapko stressed that there are serious allegations of diversion and control by the Taliban about international aid in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, during a conference hosted by the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies, the head of SIGAR emphasised that the international community is “repeating the mistakes of the past”.
The SIGAR chief said that the US Congress is in the process of passing a legislation that will prevent any aid from reaching the Taliban.
John Sopko said that the legislation is being passed in the US House of Representatives which will prevent any direct or indirect aid from reaching the Taliban. According to him, this legislation has almost passed in the US House of Representatives and is going to go to the Senate for approval. Sopko said that with the approval of the new legislation if the US aid to Afghanistan continues, it will not reach the Taliban.
The Taliban-controlled Central Bank of Afghanistan has continuously announced receiving tens of millions of dollars in cash shipments on a weekly basis since the past two years.
In the past, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has stressed that the cash aid transferred by the United Nations to Afghanistan is kept in the accounts of this organisation in a private bank and is used as humanitarian aid for millions of Afghans in need.
During the AISS conference, the SIGAR chief expressed concerns about the influence of the Taliban in the United Nations’ aid programmes and said that the United States provides most of the United Nations international aid in Afghanistan.
The SIGAR chief warned that "if the benefit of our aid goes to the Taliban", there will be serious consequences.
Sopko added that there is still interest in Washington for Afghanistan, but stressed that people in the US avoid talking about Afghanistan.
He asked the people of Afghanistan to convey the reality to them and they will convey these facts to the US Congress.
