8am: Over the past two years, the Taliban have consistently claimed to improve Afghanistan’s economic situation and foster investment opportunities. They have sought to minimize the economic crisis among the populace and the global community by disseminating engineered information. However, the World Bank has reported an economic recession in Afghanistan, attributed to reduced economic activities and ongoing inflation. In its report titled “Afghanistan Economic Monitoring,” the bank disclosed that annual inflation in Afghanistan hit -10.2 percent in January 2024. Coal exports, once touted by the Taliban as a symbol of export growth, have plummeted by 87 percent. Nonetheless, economic experts argue that under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has not achieved competitive export levels. They maintain that coal exports to Pakistan, itself engulfed in an economic crisis, cannot alleviate the country’s backwardness, unemployment, and poverty. According to them, resolving the economic recession requires a conducive investment environment, contingent upon a legitimate and authoritative political framework with both domestic and international recognition. Click here to read more (external link).