RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced that agricultural products, collected as alms (usher) from citizens, will be auctioned. According to a statement released on Thursday, July 4th, these agricultural products, including wheat and barley, were collected from farmers as usher. Since their takeover, the Taliban have imposed various taxes on citizens and established a “Usher and Zakat” department within their finance ministry.
The head of the Usher Department in Balkh province announced on Wednesday that interested buyers have ten days to submit their bids for these products.
Previously, the Taliban’s Ministry of Finance claimed that the alms collected would be distributed to the needy within the country. However, some farmers and citizens from Sar-e Pol, Paktia, and Kunar provinces have reported extortion under the guise of usher and zakat.
The Taliban maintain that usher and zakat are pillars of Islam, crucial for the state’s self-sufficiency. Yet, farmers argue that due to financial constraints and declining agricultural income, they cannot afford these additional taxes.
