KABUL (Pajhwok): In case of a halt to financial support from the global fraternity, the Afghan government woll not survive, a US federal watchdog has warned.
The Afghan military could pose a serious threat to the country’s security if international aid ended abruptly as a result of a peace deal between, it said.
John Sopko, head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR), said: “There are over 300,000 Afghans currently serving in the security forces.”
Presenting his report in Washington on Thursday, Sopko said: “Without financial support, the government of Afghanistan cannot survive.
“Should peace come, if that peace is to be sustainable, it will come at an additional price that only external donors can afford. That is why we have issued today’s report to encourage policymakers to vigorously think about the day after.”
To end 17-year conflict, the Trump administration has been trying to broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
“If their (security personnel) paychecks were to stop coming because of a loss of financial support,, this could pose a serious threat to Afghanistan’s stability,” Sopko added.
The prospect of peace raised its own risks to rebuilding efforts, the report said, referring to the reintegration of Taliban fighters. Boosting the economy and safeguarding women’s rights will become difficult.
Sopko remarked: “A peace agreement would be welcomed by the long-suffering Afghan people. But it could bring its own challenges to sustaining what the US, coalition partners and the Afghan government have achieved.”
Due to the presence of other insurgent outfits, the report said, Afghanistan might remain unstable even if the war with the Taliban came to an end.
Widespread insecurity, underdeveloped civil policing capability, endemic corruption, sluggish economy, a burgeoning opium trade and threats to women's rights are listed as the main concerns.
Donor countries are likely to fund about 51 percent of Afghanistan's 2019 government spending of $5bn. Yet the Kabul’s capabilities were generally weak, the report pointed out.
Over the past 18 years, the US has given Afghanistan more than $780 billion in aid. At least 15 percent of this assistance has been spent on reconstruction schemes.
About 63 percent of the aid ($83.1 billion) was spent on Afghan security services, including salaries, equipment, infrastructure and training.
PAN Monitor/mud
