Opposition Using Extensive Resources To Sow Discord, Says Taliban’s Defence Minister

He dismissed the possibility of the Taliban accessing US aid to Afghanistan as incorrect and told reporters that the US does not financially assist the Taliban.

On Monday, July 22, during a press briefing, the US State Department spokesperson did not respond to a reporter's question regarding the weapons left behind by the US in Afghanistan but stated, "When it comes to the US funding of the Taliban, no, we flatly do not fund the Taliban."

Recently, SIGAR reported that the US State Department has failed to review the activities of institutions using $293 million in US aid to Afghanistan.

This body mentioned that the Taliban might have benefited from these funds.

SIGAR stated that the United States has provided over $17 billion in aid to Afghanistan since August 30, 2021.

The US policy after withdrawing from Afghanistan has focused on engagement with the Taliban, and so far, there has been no indication of a willingness to support military forces opposing the Taliban.

However, US citizens are against financial aid to the Taliban, and recently thousands, mostly US citizens, have signed a petition to cut financial assistance to the Taliban.

On Tuesday, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's Foreign Minister, criticised the international community and neighbouring countries, stating that it is "laughable" that the world only issues orders but does not cooperate.

Without mentioning the millions of dollars in aid from the US and the international community to Afghanistan over the past three years, he said that the international community and neighbouring countries have not fulfilled their responsibilities towards Afghanistan.

Recently, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated that Washington has provided $17.19 billion in aid to Afghanistan since its withdrawal.

On Tuesday, July 25, at the "National Labor Conference" in Kabul, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister said that the international community and Afghanistan's neighbouring countries have not fulfilled their responsibilities towards Afghanistan.

Muttaqi claimed that the Taliban have ensured security, fought against ISIS and narcotics, but the international community has done nothing.

The Taliban’s minister stated that since coming to power, the group’s government has provided security for the people, but the main challenges remain employment and the economy. According to him, reducing poverty and unemployment is not solely the Taliban's responsibility, and the international community should also help them.

He added that the Taliban has eradicated narcotics, which is a global issue, and now Afghan farmers need alternative livelihoods and addicts need treatment, but the international community has not fulfilled its responsibility in this regard.

In May, SIGAR published a report stating that $2.8 billion of Washington's aid to Afghanistan has been spent on humanitarian and development assistance.

With the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, global aid to Afghanistan decreased, but donor countries continued their humanitarian assistance to the country.

The bank added that this initiative was financially supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre through UNICEF-supported clinics.

According to the bank, these children received therapeutic food packages through these clinics over the past 12 months.

The report states that during this period, approximately 16,000 therapeutic food packages, valued at over $953,000, were distributed to these children in Kandahar.

The Islamic Development Bank explained in its report that the total number of children treated under this programme was 17,543, including 9,940 boys and 7,603 girls.

Recently, Doctors Without Borders also announced that last year it treated 10,400 children, and in the first four months of this year, 2,416 children with malnutrition under the age of five in Kandahar, Herat, and Helmand.

This organisation painted a grim picture of the situation of children in Afghanistan in its report, adding that unemployment and poverty among the people have led to children in families suffering from malnutrition.

Akbari added that the project to seal the shared border between Razavi Khorasan and Afghanistan spans 300 kilometres.

The military commander mentioned that the engineering groups entered the region in May and are expected to complete the project within three years.

On Tuesday, Akbari said that the necessary infrastructure for implementing this plan on the northeastern borders of the country has been provided using domestic resources.

Earlier, the president ordered three billion dollars to be allocated to the General Staff of the Armed Forces for border sealing projects.

During a meeting with the district chief of Taybad, this Iranian military official mentioned that the walls of this project would each be four metres high, 3.7 metres long, and 1.1 metres thick.

Mehdi Shirdel, the district chief of Taybad, stated that the security of the northeastern borders plays a significant role in Iran-Afghanistan relations and can pave the way for increased interactions between the two countries.

Recently, another Iranian military official stated that one of the main objectives of sealing the Iran-Afghanistan border is to prevent the illegal entry of Afghans into the country.

According to these sources, the individuals had apparently been detained for informing media outlets about the killing of Rustam Rahimi, a mosque cleric in the Shashpar area of Uruzgan.

Local residents stressed that the Taliban members are arresting people instead of finding and holding the perpetrators of the murder accountable.

Sources confirmed that on Sunday afternoon, the Taliban members arrested Rohullah Hosseini, Taher Moradi, Mistari Dawood, Zia, and Farzad. The identities of the other three individuals have not yet been determined.

Local residents told Afghanistan International on Saturday that two unknown individuals invited Rustam Rahimi to the mosque and killed him with knives.
Some media reports indicated that "individuals in Taliban uniforms" carried out the murder.

The motive and reason behind this killing remain unclear, and the Taliban have not commented on the murder of this Hazara cleric.

Residents of the Shashpar area said that this is the 21st murder in the area since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.