KABUL: The Islamic Emirate has rejected the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) report, claiming that the Taliban indirectly benefit from US-funded education assistance.
Bilal Karimi, the Deputy Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that SIGAR’s Report findings are wildly inaccurate, saying the IEA operates in the best interests of Afghanistan.
Karimi stated, “The SIGAR claims about Afghanistan issues are far from the truth. The Islamic Emirate manages all affairs and decisions in Afghanistan based on its principles and the country’s interests.”
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) recently reported that the Islamic Emirate indirectly benefits from US-funded education assistance. SIGAR’s report highlighted that the Taliban exploited US education funding by creating fraudulent NGOs to receive donor assistance and by infiltrating and extorting existing Afghan NGOs delivering educational aid.
SIGAR Report Reveals Decline in Afghan Education
According to SIGAR, this has resulted in a decrease in boys’ secondary school attendance in eight provinces, and a private university reported losing 50% of its enrolled students immediately following August 2021. Additionally, educational programs for women at the university were severely impacted due to current Afghan government policies, which have led to staffing shortages caused by restrictions on women teachers.
Economists have offered various perspectives on SIGAR’s report. Economist Seiyar Qureshi mentioned, “I think that, from the start, America and its allies have known that the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan has access to the thirty to forty million dollars that are sent there every week in addition to other forms of aid.
The UN Security Council had previously reported that 56 humanitarian aid programs in Afghanistan were halted due to the Islamic Emirate’s intervention. However, the Islamic Emirate has asserted that its role is primarily to provide security for relief organizations and that they do not interfere in the internal affairs of these organizations.
