KABUL — Taliban denied claims that they received billions of dollars in aid from the United States over the past three years, releasing a statement on Wednesday to counter remarks made by US President-elect Donald Trump.
“The truth is that the United States has not given a single dollar to the Islamic Emirate (Taliban),” the statement read, adding that billions of dollars in Afghan central bank assets remain frozen and inaccessible. The statement, issued by Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat, accused the US of seizing funds belonging to the Afghan people.
Taliban also stated that they have never sought assistance from Washington and do not expect to receive any.
The Taliban’s statement asserted that the funds cited by US officials were primarily spent on the withdrawal of American forces and the evacuation of their Afghan allies. It suggested that some of the money may have been allocated to humanitarian aid but claimed such spending had no tangible benefits for ordinary Afghans.
“We also urge the United States to cease expenditures under the guise of aid, as these funds do not benefit the people of Afghanistan,” the statement read.
Taliban further alleged that funds spent “in the name of Afghanistan” were primarily used to advance US objectives and to fuel negative propaganda against their administration.
This comes as Trump sharply criticized the Biden administration on Tuesday, claiming that billions of US dollars are being funneled to “the Taliban Afghanistan”.
“It’s not even believable. Billions of dollars, not millions—billions,” Mr. Trump said. “We pay billions of dollars to essentially the Taliban Afghanistan. And that’s given by Biden.”
This also comes after debate among some US congressmen, including Tim Burchett, who in a letter to Trump, has outlined his concerns about US financial aid allegedly benefiting the Taliban, citing reports of funds transferred to Afghanistan under the Biden administration. He called on Trump, as the incoming president, to prioritize halting such payments and ensuring greater transparency in foreign aid allocations.
Burchett has pointed to claims that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Afghanistan had paid taxes to the Taliban, which now controls the country’s government. He also raised alarms about cash transfers to Afghanistan’s central bank, warning that the funds could be misused to finance terrorism.
He has also pointed to large cash shipments sent to Afghanistan’s central bank, suggesting they are difficult to track and vulnerable to exploitation by the Taliban. “These cash shipments are auctioned off, and after that, they are nearly impossible to trace. This is how the Taliban is being funded and plans to fund terrorism around the world,” he alleged.
Burchett’s concerns mirror a growing unease among US lawmakers over the possibility that international aid intended for humanitarian purposes could be exploited by the Taliban. The US government has denied providing direct aid to the Taliban.
