The Taliban's deputy minister of economy has said that following the suspension of US aid to Afghanistan, the activities of 50 international aid organisations in 28 provinces of the country have been halted.
Abdul Latif Nazari called on the countries of the world to separate humanitarian aid from political issues.
Abdul Latif Nazari, the Taliban's deputy minister of economy, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday that the activities of 50 international groups and aid organisations in 28 provinces of the country had been suspended in recent days.
He said that the reason for the suspension of the work of these organisations was the suspension of aid from the United States of America.
Immediately after entering the White House, US President Donald Trump suspended all foreign aid, including sending money to Afghanistan, for three months. The suspension of US aid has disrupted Afghanistan's relative economic stability, leaving the Taliban confused in the face of financial challenges, including a sharp devaluation of the Afghani.
Earlier, following Trump's statements that the administration of Joe Biden had paid billions of dollars in aid to the Taliban, Nazari said that the Taliban government does not rely on foreign aid.
Referring to Trump's threat to cut off aid to Afghanistan, Nazari said that these threats have no impact on the decisions of the Taliban government. The Taliban's deputy minister of economy said, "The Islamic Emirate is a completely independent system in all aspects, especially in the economic sector, and has never relied on foreign aid. Therefore, these types of threats will not have any impact on the decision-making policies of the Islamic Emirate."
The Taliban spokesman also announced that they would not receive any help from Washington. "The claim of billions and millions of dollars in aid to the Islamic Emirate by the United States is false and we strongly condemn it," the Taliban spokesman said in a statement.
"The truth is that the United States not only did not give any money to the Islamic Emirate, but also usurped and froze billions of dollars of the people of Afghanistan," said Hamdullah Fitrat.
He stressed that the Taliban not only do not expect help from the United States, but they have never asked for it.
The suspension of US aid has caused volatility in Afghanistan's foreign exchange market. In one week, the value of the afghani against the dollar has fallen drastically. In response, the Taliban took control of the foreign exchange market and the group’s officials have beaten up some money changers and forced some to sell dollars.
The Taliban's central bank has repeatedly sold tens of millions of dollars over the past few days to maintain the value of the afghani. However, economic analysts believe that without continued US financial support, it will not be possible to preserve the value of the Afghani.
Earlier this week, the United States provided more than $40 million in aid to Afghanistan. Observers believe that this aid has played an important role in the circulation of the economic cycle of the Taliban government. According to statistics, the United States has provided more than $3 billion in aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan last year.
