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SIGAR finds Pentagon failed to control disbursement of Afghan defense force salary funds
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) issued a report this week in which it stated the Pentagon made $232 million in questionable salary payments to the former government of Afghanistan’s defense ministry personnel for fiscal year 2019 to May 2020.
SIGAR found that during this period, the US Defense Department (DoD) disbursed $232 million to the former Afghan government “for suspicious units and non-existent object codes, or [for salaries] that were never delivered to the bank accounts of MOD personnel.”
The report notes that these payments were calculated outside of the Afghan Personnel and Pay System (APPS) software system, which was put in place to prevent corruption and promote transparency regarding payments to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
The Pentagon reported spending $64.8 million on the software system.
Specifically, SIGAR found that at least $191.9 million in funds for salaries was disbursed but calculated outside of APPS, in addition to disbursing over $40.1 million more for salaries than what was supported by the APPS documentation.
This occurred because the DoD did not use APPS to manage all aspects of the MoD payroll process, did not implement internal controls, and did not use all of the authorities
granted to it to oversee the distribution of salary funds.
The United States provided more than $3 billion annually to support the former Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
Of this $3 billion, more than $750 million paid the salaries of personnel at the Ministries of Defense (MOD) and Interior Affairs, respectively.
The objective of this audit was to determine the extent to which DoD, from 2019 through May 2021, provided accountability and oversight of the funds that DoD provided to the former Afghan government to pay the salaries of MoD personnel.
In an overview of the report to Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, SIGAR’s Inspector General John Sopko said the improper payments of MoD salaries persisted following the implementation of APPS.
“Additionally, systemic gaps persisted that may have included enabling corrupt individuals to collect multiple salaries by creating fictitious records in APPS, inflated MoD personnel numbers, or MoD personnel not receiving their salaries,” he said.
“The findings of this report demonstrate core deficiencies related to MoD pay and the continued exposure of funds intended for salaries to corruption, diversion, and pilferage. Furthermore, our findings provide clear indications that MoD strength numbers in APPS were unreliable and misrepresented force capabilities,” he stated.
Ariana Afghan Airlines has ranked seventh among 45 airlines in Central Asia in Skytrax’s 2026 rankings.
Company officials say Ariana Afghan ranked eighth on the list in 2025, but moved up one place this year following improvements in service quality and the expansion of its operations.
According to the officials, in 2026 the airline met criteria including service quality, flight safety, professional cabin crew, and experience in the aviation sector, placing it among the top 10 airlines in Central Asia.
Skytrax is an international organization that evaluates and ranks the quality of services in the aviation industry and airlines, assessing and ranking carriers annually based on specific criteria.
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Silk Road highway in Wakhan corridor now reaches the China border
The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.
The construction of the Silk Road Highway in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor has been fully completed after five years of work, officials in Badakhshan province said.
Amanullah Chehra, head of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in Badakhshan, said the 121.13-kilometre road begins in the Barghil area and stretches to Bzai Gonbad near the Chinese border.
According to officials, the road is between 7 and 10 metres wide and includes three major bridges, each measuring approximately 20 to 22 metres in length. Numerous smaller drainage structures have also been built along the route to facilitate the flow of water.
The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, met on Wednesday with Bruno Lemarquis, UNAMA’s Deputy Head for Humanitarian Affairs, to discuss the situation of Afghan returnees and humanitarian assistance.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said Lemarquis briefed the minister on assessments conducted by UN agencies during visits to several provinces to identify the needs of returnee families.
Lemarquis said joint cooperation between UN agencies and the Islamic Emirate is needed to support and resettle returnees. He added that UN agencies are currently assisting thousands of families and called for the expansion of humanitarian assistance.
He also said the international community should pay greater attention to the needs of Afghans, adding that UNAMA is ready to cooperate in addressing challenges facing returnees.
Abdul Kabir welcomed UNAMA’s support and thanked the United Nations for its assistance to Afghans. He said various government institutions have been tasked with addressing returnees’ needs.
The minister also called on aid organizations to continue supporting returnee families, saying a program to resettle thousands of internally displaced families is also underway.
Kabir further said the necessary facilities have been provided for UN agencies to operate and that the Islamic Emirate welcomes UNAMA’s humanitarian cooperation.
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