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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.
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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