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SIGAR reports a large percentage of US aid is being diverted to the IEA
The US Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR) John Sopko said Tuesday the Islamic Emirate is diverting or otherwise benefitting from a considerable amount of U.S. assistance.
Testifying at a hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs US House of Representatives, Sopko shared how US funds have been provided to or diverted by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) since the collapse of the former government in August 2021.
He said: “SIGAR has found that Taliban (IEA) officials routinely pressure US partners to hire Taliban allies, insist that US partners contract with Taliban-affiliated companies, dictate which Afghans should receive US aid, demand payoffs from US partners before a project can begin, divert US food aid to Taliban soldiers, and tax recipients of aid once it is delivered.
“This interference in and diversion of US assistance is worrying and presents multiple risks,” Sopko said.
He stated however, “over the last 12 years, SIGAR documented extensive diversion of US assistance by the prior Karzai and Ghani regimes. Similarly, experts have noted that diversion and interference are common among other autocratic regimes the US government has sought to bypass to get aid directly to vulnerable populations. Nevertheless, the diversion of humanitarian assistance by the Taliban (IEA) is of particular concern given the humanitarian crisis the populace face as well as the Taliban’s terrorist ties.”
“Unlike with the prior Afghan governments, diverted funds now may fund terrorist activities in addition to enriching the pockets of corrupt officials,” he said.
Meanwhile in his opening speech to the House, at the same hearing, Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Biden administration for its policies on Afghanistan and said there had been no plans in place to support the Afghan people nor to secure enduring peace post withdrawal.
He called the IEA “terrorists” who “oppress” the Afghan people, adding that “they steal humanitarian aid from starving Afghans.”
He also criticized the IEA for the edicts against women and girls.
“What troubles me is that the Biden administration is pursuing a policy of engagement at all costs and has failed to hold the Taliban (IEA) to account for their crimes.
“The Biden administration meet with the Taliban (IEA) frequently, praise the Taliban often, and haphazardly send billions of tax-payers dollars to Afghanistan.
“Through these policies the Biden administration has all but recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
He also claimed the IEA had equipped the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with weapons left behind by the US, and that the TTP is “increasingly conducting terrorist attacks while al-Qaeda remains”safely in Afghanistan under Taliban (IEA) protection.”
However, the Islamic Emirate rejected Sopko’s statements that the IEA is either benefiting or diverting US aid and said the claims were baseless.
“America and Western countries do not cooperate with and help the Islamic Emirate, and regarding the [special] inspector general of the United States of America for the reconstruction of Afghanistan that you mentioned, neither does it have any official office in Afghanistan, nor does it coordinate with the officials of the Islamic Emirate, so neither their statements nor their claims have any validity,” said Bilal Karimi, the IEA’s Deputy Spokesman.
The Islamic Emirate also rejected McCaul’s statements on the the IEA having close ties with terrorist groups including the TTP and al-Qaeda and said officials do not have any documents nor evidence to prove their statements, and that the claims were merely propaganda.
An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck Afghanistan on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake occurred at 10:09 local time at a depth of 35 km, USGS said.
Its epicentre was 25 kilometres from Nahrin district of Baghlan province in north Afghanistan.
Chairman of U.S. House intelligence committee, Rick Crawford, has criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Afghan admissions to the United States following the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a statement, Crawford said that alongside large numbers of migrants entering through the U.S. southern border, approximately 190,000 Afghan nationals were granted entry under Operation Allies Welcome after the U.S. military withdrawal. He claimed that many of those admitted lacked proper documentation and, in some cases, were allowed into the country without comprehensive biometric data being collected.
Crawford said that the United States had a duty to protect Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces and institutions during the two-decade conflict. However, he argued that the rapid and poorly coordinated nature of the withdrawal created conditions that overwhelmed existing screening and vetting systems.
“The rushed and poorly planned withdrawal created a perfect storm,” Crawford said, asserting that it compromised the government’s ability to fully assess who was being admitted into the country.
He said that there 18,000 known or suspected terrorists in the U.S.
“Today, I look forward to getting a better understanding of the domestic counterterrorism picture, and hearing how the interagency is working to find, monitor, prosecute, and deport known or suspected terrorists that never should have entered our country to begin with,” he said.
The Biden administration has previously defended Operation Allies Welcome, stating that multiple layers of security screening were conducted in coordination with U.S. intelligence, defense, and homeland security agencies. Nonetheless, the evacuation and resettlement of Afghan nationals remains a contentious political issue, particularly amid broader debates over immigration and border security.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently ordered its diplomats worldwide to stop processing visas for Afghan nationals, effectively suspending the special immigration program for Afghans who helped the United States during its 20-year-long occupation of their home country.
The decision came after a former member of one of Afghanistan’s CIA-backed units was accused of shooting two U.S. National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C.
Mohammad Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, says that over the past four years, the army forces of the Islamic Emirate have shown no hesitation in defending and protecting Afghanistan, and that today the country’s army is standing on its own feet.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Fitrat made these remarks at a meeting with media representatives, political analysts, and a number of government officials aimed at coordination and strengthening cooperation. He added: “Nations that cannot stand on their own feet and rely on others, even if they grow, will not be capable of achieving real progress.”
Fitrat also expressed appreciation for the role of the media in ensuring security and in supporting the country’s defense forces, stating: “We and you, as citizens of this land, must put our hands together and build the country together, take pride in our forces, and strive with all our strength for the country’s development. We have created an army that defends honor, territorial integrity, and the borders of the country, and serves as the guardian of our freedom.”
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is working to establish an army equipped with modern weapons so that it can defend the country’s territory under all circumstances.
He stated that the country’s army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and that it has also been made clear to neighboring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a response several times stronger.
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