US taxpayer dollars must not reach Afghan rulers: Mast

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has voted in favor of a bill aimed at ensuring that no US tax dollars end up in the hands of Afghanistan’s caretaker government.

This issue has been a key focus for House Republicans since the last Congress, following revelations that weekly cash shipments of nearly $40 million were being sent to Afghanistan’s Central Bank.

“This bill requires the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from providing financial and material support to the Taliban,” said Committee Chairman Brian Mast.

“That’s important for the United States of America. We don’t have an embassy there. We don’t have diplomatic relations with the Taliban.”

Chairman Mast added, “This includes leveraging US foreign assistance to discourage countries and organizations from supporting the Taliban. We don’t want American tax dollars, in any way, shape, or form, going to the Taliban.”

The bill, co-sponsored by 23 lawmakers, advanced to the House floor along with several other measures during the committee’s first full markup session of the 119th Congress.

Four months ago, former President Donald Trump claimed that billions of US dollars had been given to the current government in Afghanistan. However, the Islamic Emirate rejected these claims and recently a senior IEA official said not a single dollar from the US had been received in assistance by the caretaker government..

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, stated: “The money referred to by the US was mostly spent on the withdrawal and evacuation of American forces from Afghanistan, or on the relocation and resettlement of Afghans who fled the country with them. It’s possible that a portion of it was also spent by international organizations under the label of humanitarian aid.”

The Biden administration has also denied providing any direct aid to the Islamic Emirate, maintaining that all international aid delivered to Afghanistan is strictly for humanitarian purposes.

sa/ma