The Guardian (UK): Mazar, in the 1990s, was the most secular, socially liberal of Afghan cities. In the first two decades of the 21st century, it was dominated by warlords whose militias had defeated the Taliban. During this time, money surged into the city. And yet, last August, Mazar fell to the Taliban even before
Akmal Dawi VOA News February 1, 2022 A former senior Afghan official says he has answered questions in a U.S. inquiry into allegations that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took $150 million in cash with him when he abruptly left Kabul last year as the Taliban took control. Hamdullah Mohib, who served as Ghani’s national
By Ron Synovitz RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January Like millions of other impoverished Afghans, day laborer Omaruddin and his family are facing starvation as the country’s economic crisis deepens under Taliban rule. Omaruddin, a Kabul resident, has registered over 20 times with the Taliban regime in the hope of receiving wheat that was donated as humanitarian aid
8am: Khanom Gul, another Kunduz resident, said she lives in a rented house, stressing that her head of household is unemployed. According to her, when she knocks on the door of the Kunduz Refugee Office to receive aid, no one includes her on the list. “People with links to the Taliban are on this list,”
8am: The dismissal of the department’s experienced and professional staff and the appointment of Taliban members to these positions have provoked a sharp reaction among some citizens and civil activists in Herat. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan directed Pakistani authorities to send qualified and trained Pakistan manpower to Afghanistan, the Prime Minister’s office said on Friday. Click here to read more (external link). Related Taliban Faces Shortage of Professional Staff: Report – Government jobs are given as patronage to ex-fighters and exiles living quietly in
Tolo News: The outpouring of money from the US government for the Afghan war provided billions of dollars to military contractors, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The reports also showed major instances of embezzlement. According to the report, the Defense Department spent six million dollars on a project which was aimed to import nine
Tolo News: “Ghani certainly deserves an award, too. He was breathtaking in both his corruption and his gross incompetence. He deserted his people, leaving them to misery and death so he could live among the corrupt former state officials in the moral cesspool that is the UAE,” said Sullivan. Click here to read more (external
8am: Credible sources in Parwan province accuse Taliban officials of monopolizing and embezzling aid from the international community… The aid has been allocated to the military and people close to the Taliban… Click here to read more (external link).
8am: Some former employees of Afghanistan’s Central Bank and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries have written an open letter to Harvard University officials, asking them to dismiss Ajmal Ahmadi, the former head of the Central Bank, from the university’s academic staff… Ajmal Ahmadi has been accused of constantly abusing his authority for personal gain