RASC News Agency: Reports from Herat Province in western Afghanistan suggest that the per-passport fee within the Taliban’s passport management in this province has escalated to up to two thousand US dollars. A well-informed source in Herat, speaking on condition of anonymity, conveyed to a correspondent from the RASC news agency on Monday, January 22nd, that Taliban members are reportedly selling passports to certain individuals for two thousand US dollars, with many expressing a willingness to meet this financial demand.
The source underscores that the registration and passport distribution process in Afghanistan are firmly under the control of the Taliban group and Herat Province. Surprisingly, numerous individuals are allegedly prepared to pay up to five thousand US dollars to the Taliban passport management staff in this province. However, there appears to be a lack of serious scrutiny into this matter. According to the source, people have endured days, weeks, and even months of waiting for registration or passport acquisition, yet the process has failed to gain momentum thus far.
The source further emphasizes that Taliban authorities seemingly limit passport distribution to members of their own group, thereby excluding the broader society. These revelations come amidst recent claims by the Taliban’s passport director in Herat Province, stating that 1,500 passports are being digitally distributed daily to residents of this province. It is noteworthy that despite the initiation of offline registration and distribution, the process has been abruptly halted due to a significant surge of people at the passport office and Khwaja Abdullah Ansari field.
In light of this, another source in Herat informs the RASC news agency, “Should the passport distribution process commence in the western provinces and the city of Herat, it can be asserted that no individual will be left without a passport in western Afghanistan.” The source continues, “Initiating the distribution process could potentially offer a lifeline to a considerable number of Afghanistan’s citizens grappling with dire economic conditions, creating promising employment opportunities for themselves and their families in Iran, Turkey, and other Eastern and Western countries as a means to escape the current situation.”
On a contrasting note, Gholam Haidar Ehsani, a civil activist in Herat Province, informs the RASC news agency that the Taliban group is acutely aware that initiating the passport distribution process in Herat Province and other Afghanistan provinces would result in the exodus of Afghanistanis, effectively dwindling the country’s population to zero. Ehsani contends that if the Taliban group initiates the passport distribution process, substantial revenues would flow into the hands of senior officials within the group.
Thus far, local Taliban authorities in the passport management of Herat Province have refrained from commenting on this matter. It is crucial to note that individuals intending to travel to European countries are patiently awaiting the initiation of the passport distribution process as a means to leave the country.
