Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reaffirmed that the Taliban is a “designated terrorist organization”.
In response to a question about Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s bill, which calls for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to be designated as a terrorist organization and highlights the contradiction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) being designated as such under the U.S. Justice Department while the Afghan Taliban are not, Patel said, “I’m fairly certain the Taliban is a designated terrorist organization.”
When further questioned about the Taliban in Afghanistan not being officially designated as terrorists, Patel responded, “I don’t think that’s – that’s accurate.”
This discussion arises amid ongoing criticism from Afghan citizens both inside and outside the country. They have repeatedly condemned the weekly $40 million aid from the U.S. to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, arguing that these funds end up in the hands of “terrorist” groups.
While the United States has not officially recognized the Taliban, American officials have consistently emphasized the need for engagement with the group. Previously, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller denied that the U.S. provides direct financial aid to the Taliban. However, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in its latest report that the U.S. State Department has not thoroughly reviewed the aid organizations operating in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in accordance with U.S. policies.
The SIGAR report highlighted the risk that U.S. aid could potentially be accessed by terrorist groups within Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
