Taliban Collects 200 Million Afghanis from ‘Power Bills’ in Kunduz

The Taliban insurgent group in northern Kunduz province has earned about 200 million Afghanis from power bills during the last two years, officials said.

“During the last two years, the Taliban is collecting power bills in the areas under their control,” Abdul Hameed Hameedi, the power utility head for Kunduz province said.

According to the official, this amount of money was collected from more than 14,000 clients in the province.

In addition, sources in the Afghanistan’s national power utility say that annually, the group earns millions of Afghanis from the power bills in Herat and Helmand provinces.

Reports suggest that Taliban earns a part of the power utility’s revenue in the volatile Baghlan province too.

Local officials blames both the government and the power company.

“Weak management is the main reason that the Company cannot collect its payments; therefore, an enormous amount of money goes to the anti-government armed groups,” Firuzuddin Imaq, a member of Baghlan provincial council said.

In the past, a part of the Taliban’s income used to come from drug trafficking and Islamic taxation (Ushur and Zakat), but now the power bill is an addition to their incomes.

By: Fawad Naseri & Hesamuddin Hesam