KABUL — Taliban deputy chief minister’s office in a statement on Sunday said 62,000 beggars have been rounded up from Kabul and other cities across the country over the past year.
Of those gathered, the statement claims, 27,715 were identified as deserving aid, 31,012 were classified as “professional beggars,” and the remainder were children or individuals struggling with drug addiction.
The announcement comes as the World Food Program (WFP) recently reported that 12.4 million people in Afghanistan are facing “acute” levels of food insecurity. Many Afghan citizens, the WFP noted, are uncertain about where their next meal will come from.
The WFP also warned that the severe financial crisis, worsened by restrictions imposed by the Taliban—especially those barring women from working—has jeopardized the delivery of food aid. This shortage of funding threatens to exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.
