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A sizeable amount of US money went into IEA’s pockets: John Sopko
John Sopko, former US special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said on Wednesday that a sizeable amount of US taxpayers’ money went into the pockets of the Islamic Emirate.
“We know it is going to continue because unfortunately we have nobody on the ground and the money is going through the UN, world food organization (WFP) and other international organizations, and we don’t really have good oversight,” Sopko told Fox Business.
He said that he was not sure if the US foreign aid pause by the Trump administration includes money going directly to the UN and other international organizations.
Sopko said that the US international aid agency (USAID) continues to be a “broken agency.”
He said USAID workers in Afghanistan told SIGAR: “You can’t believe what we are doing. And we use that for a lot of our reports. But none of that got up to Washington. That is why you heard all the happy talk – we are winning the war, we are helping the kids, we are building schools, we are doing all this – and it turned out they built schools but they never looked if there were any teachers. They built hospitals but they never looked if there was any water or drugs or even patients.”
Sopko said that the whole objective was to spend the money, and it wasn’t just for USAID, but the US Department of Defense and the Department of State.
“The test was: did you spend your appropriated funds, and if you didn’t, you lost money, if you didn’t, you weren’t promoted. And that is the whole delusion we had between the reality on the ground and what the American people were being told by the aid administrators, the ambassadors, the generals and everybody for the last 20 years,” he said.
Earlier, John Sopko claimed that the Islamic Emirate is diverting or otherwise benefitting from a considerable amount of U.S. assistance.
IEA, however, has rejected the claim.
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Continued aid to Afghanistan vital for regional security: Kazakh president
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emphasized the continuation of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, stating that the ongoing provision of such aid plays an important role in ensuring regional security.
Speaking at the international conference “Peace and Trust” in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, Tokayev described addressing complex humanitarian challenges and the reconstruction of Afghanistan as a necessity.
“To ensure regional security, we consider it essential to continue providing assistance to Afghanistan, including by strengthening international efforts to address complex humanitarian issues and the reconstruction of this country. Kazakhstan remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan through humanitarian aid, educational projects, trade development, and food security initiatives,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts believe that sustainable improvement of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan requires broad cooperation from the international community and support for the country’s economic development.
“Investment can be defined as one of the fundamental drivers of the economic cycle, and whenever Afghan traders do not take their money out of the country and instead invest domestically, it naturally leads to greater growth and dynamism in Afghanistan’s economy,” said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic analyst.
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan continues, reports by international relief organizations indicate that millions of citizens of the country are in urgent need of food, health, and livelihood assistance.
The reduction in funding for aid organizations, the impacts of climate change, and the return of migrants have increased concerns about a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.
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Islamic Emirate declines to attend Tehran meeting on Afghanistan
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Sirajuddin Haqqani: A government that intimidates its people is not a true government
Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said during a visit to Khost province on Friday that any government which rules through fear cannot be considered a true government.
“A government is one that is loved by its people, one that serves them with respect and compassion, and from whose behavior people learn ethics and sincerity,” he said.
Haqqani also stressed that Afghans who opposed the Islamic Emirate in the past should be tolerated and treated in a way that helps eliminate hostility and animosity, paving the way for national cohesion.
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