RASC News Agency: Local sources in Bamiyan report that humanitarian assistance from a British charity is being funneled to Taliban militants rather than reaching those in genuine need. Insider accounts reveal that aid provided by the UK-based charity Ummah Welfare Trust, ostensibly designated for humanitarian relief, has, in reality, been distributed among Taliban fighters, their war-disabled members, and their families bypassing the actual deserving recipients. According to an official statement from the Taliban governor’s office in Bamiyan, the organization distributed aid to 750 vulnerable families on Friday, March 7. However, local sources insist that a significant portion of these supplies was allocated to Taliban combatants, many of whom had been relocated to Bamiyan from Zabul and Kandahar.
To fabricate a misleading narrative, the Taliban reportedly staged a media spectacle by inviting approximately 100 local families for orchestrated photographs and publicity. A Bamiyan resident remarked, “The Taliban habitually exploit genuinely needy individuals for propaganda purposes, while the bulk of the aid ultimately benefits their own ranks.” A particularly striking detail is the Taliban’s deliberate removal of the Ummah Welfare Trust logo and emblem from their official press release an act that raises suspicions of concealment and misappropriation of humanitarian assistance. This alleged diversion comes even as the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees recently announced Ramadan aid distribution for 15,000 families. Yet, sources indicate that, for the past three years, such aid has consistently been monopolized by Taliban fighters and their families, leaving the truly vulnerable populations neglected.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Ummah Welfare Trust now faces serious allegations of aiding Taliban militants instead of assisting impoverished Afghanistanis, thereby reinforcing the group’s presence in strategically vital regions like Bamiyan. The international community’s silence and the inaction of oversight organizations in response to this blatant misuse of humanitarian aid have intensified concerns regarding the Taliban’s ability to exploit foreign resources to consolidate their power and advance their strategic objectives.
