Afghanistan Peace CampaignBut the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the interim government’s interference in international assistance’ delivery.
The spokesman for the US department of State, Mathew Miller, told a press conference in a response to a question about SIGAR John Sopko’s testimony to the US Congress regarding the “Taliban’s” getting US aid, said that the US government has robust oversight measures in place to monitor the implementation of US-funded humanitarian assistance around the world, which “we provide to help save the most vulnerable of lives.”
He made the remarks days after the Special Inspector General (SIGAR), John Sopko, said that the “Taliban demands payoffs to permit the implementation of aid projects” and that they also are pressuring the UN and NGOs to hire their “Taliban members, their relatives, and allies to help provide US assistance.”
But Miller said that the US works with “trusted international” partners who have extensive experience working in challenging environments like Afghanistan, where there is no US presence.
“In cases where the Taliban makes demands of our partners beyond routine operational costs, our partners pause or adjust their operations accordingly,” he said.
But the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the interim government’s interference in international assistance’ delivery.
“We just investigate the complaints. There has been no interference in NGOs. We have heard about this report, and we deny it. It is not true,” he said.
Economist Sayed Masoud said that such remarks of the US officials indicate political messages for the interim Afghan government.
“In fact, this is a distraction from the US direction towards the regime in Afghanistan,” he said.
To a large degree, Sopko said, “our research confirms that those who control the guns control the aid.”