RASC News Agency: Local sources from Kunduz have reported that the Taliban distributed cash aid from an international NGO among their affiliates in Dasht-e-Archi district, bypassing the intended recipients. On Tuesday, October 22, it was revealed that the NGO “ACTED” provided financial assistance to 50 families in the district, designed for those who had lost their homes. However, the majority of this aid was allocated to Taliban members and their relatives.
According to the sources, each family was eligible to receive $550 in cash aid, with $275 distributed during the initial phase. Despite this, only a handful of the actual victims received the financial assistance, as most of it was redirected to individuals associated with the Taliban. Mawlawi Esmatullah Osama, the Taliban governor for Dasht-e-Archi, claimed during the distribution that many of their homes had been destroyed in airstrikes during the war. This interference has been highlighted in a recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which pointed to the Taliban’s growing involvement in the allocation of foreign aid.
Osama further argued that losses resulting from natural disasters like earthquakes and floods were acts of God, thus unavoidable. In contrast, the destruction of Mujahideen homes by foreign forces over the past two decades, he asserted, was a debt that must be repaid. Consequently, a substantial portion of the aid was directed toward Taliban fighters and their families.
This practice of diverting aid has become widespread across various provinces, with Taliban officials repeatedly prioritizing their members at the expense of legitimate victims, undermining the purpose of humanitarian assistance and depriving those most in need.
