Arab News: There are reports that the revenues from mines, besides helping the Taliban run its government machinery, are also partially being channeled into the private pockets of some of the Taliban leaders. If true, this could be another chapter in the long history of thefts of the national assets of Afghanistan. Another example is the illegal timber mafia that has led to continuous logging and deforestation in the country’s eastern Kunar province. Afghanistan cannot afford a new mining mafia as the country struggles to confront the declining economy in the wake of the political developments of August 2021. Click here to read more (external link).