Past govt lately dispatched nearly $786,000 to Dushanbe

KABUL (Pajhwok): Nearly $786,000 had been dispatched mistakenly to Afghanistan’s Embassy in Tajikistan, according to officials, while some sources claim the amount was intentionally sent and withdrawn from the embassy account.

Some sources claimed the amount was dispatched to meet the expenses of embassy and withdrawn by Afghanistan Ambassador in Tajikistan Mohammad ZahirAghbar from the account in collaboration with former Vice President AmrullahSaleh.

Saleh could not be reached for comment while Aghbar also denied responding to Pajhwok queries in this regard.

Amount ‘mistakenly’ transferred to embassy

A letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs written to Afghanistan’s embassy in Tajikistan capital Dushanbe on November 22 says: “The Ministry of Finance transferred an additional $785628 mistakenly in salaries this year.” The MoFA found this after assessing salary and other privileges of foreign diplomats this years.

The embassy had been asked to return the amount to Da Afghanistan Bank since it was transferred mistakenly.

Finance Ministry Spokesperson Ahmad WaliHaqmal acknowledged that few days before the fall of previous regime nearly $786,000 had been transferred to Dushanbe mistakenly.

He said in the past similar mistake had happened and the money was either returned or compensated for the future expanses and issuance of salaries. He added the amount sent to Dushanbe Embassy will be dealt with accordingly.

Amount ‘intentionally’ dispatched to Dushanbe

An employee of the Afghanistan embassy in Dushanbe, who recently left his job and did not want to be named, said the amount was transferred lately during previous government for coming three years salaries, expenses, health insurance and other requirement.

He claimed: “It was not transferred mistakenly, it was intentionally transferred and people like AmrullahSaleh, finance officials of finance ministry and foreign ministry were involved.”

‘Money taken from embassy’s bank account’

The embassy officer said that Mohammad ZahirAghbar, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan, withdrew the money from the bank in Tajikistan in collusion with AmrullahSaleh, former first vice president.

Some reports say that AmrullahSaleh and some other former government officials are currently in Tajikistan.

The officer of the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan claims that the embassy’s revenue was also not transferred to Kabul in recent months and that Aghbar also withdrew $30,000 to$ 40,000 collected by the embassy in its account for its services. He added that the embassy’s bank accounts have now been closed.

Another source, who did not want to be named in the report, confirmed the issue.

However, another document shows that JawadShaala in a letter to the embassy said that he was finance and administrative director at the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan from February 26, 2020 until October 2 this year. He said that a large amount of funds sent from Kabul to the embassy had been spent.

“But some amount of the money left in the embassy’s bank account was present until the end of my job, was withdrawn based on verbal directives from the ambassador for the closure of the bank account…,” he said.

Ahmad WaliHaqmal, a spokesman for Ministry of Finance, about the withdrawal of the money, said, “This government’s money, transferred from official address, today or tomorrow, our embassy will be reopened, so Aghbar should then pay the money wherever he is.”

Pajhwok Afghan News shared the issue with Mohammad ZahirAghbar via WhatsApp and said, “The Taliban regime and the Taliban letter are not official for us, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Acting President have been active. The Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan has been acting in all cases under the direction of the Foreign Ministry and the Acting President, and is accountable to them in all cases.”

However, he did not provide any details about the withdrawal of the money and its transfer from the bank.

Pajhwok also tried to talk with AmrullahSaleh about the issue, but a contact was not established with him.

Nh/mds/ma