Terrorism

Afghan Taliban face financial crisis, officials say

By Sulaiman

Afghan Taliban appear somewhere in Afghanistan in an undated photo. The terrorist group has encountered severe financial hardship after its commander, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, was killed in May, analysts say. [Courtesy of Sulaiman]

Afghan Taliban appear somewhere in Afghanistan in an undated photo. The terrorist group has encountered severe financial hardship after its commander, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, was killed in May, analysts say. [Courtesy of Sulaiman]

KABUL -- The death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor earlier this year has plunged the group into financial uncertainty, Afghan officials and analysts say.

The terrorist leader was killed in May.

One of his main duties was managing the Taliban's funds, collected through methods like extortion, they say.

Without his skills, the Taliban face a rocky financial future, analysts say, though they are unable to estimate a percentage decline in funding.

Financial problems weaken Taliban

"The Taliban are faced with financial difficulties and are currently focused on [illicit] taxes ... and on the drug trade," Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told Salaam Times.

The terror group's financial straits and internecine distrust "have caused the Taliban to be divided into several factions", he said.

They are suffering an impact on their battlefield prowess, he added.

"The Taliban historically were active in 24 [of 34] provinces," he said. "Now they are engaged ... in only five provinces, in all of which the security forces are suppressing them."

Eventually, the Taliban's financial problems will doom the group, he said.

Taliban extort, rob the public

The Taliban are known to depend on the money they can squeeze out of terrorised civilians.

"Money has kept the Taliban active up to now," Aminullah Shariq, an Afghan political analyst and former governor of Paktika, told Salaam Times. "A lack of funding to fight will eliminate the Taliban."

Only the government, under Islamic principles and Afghan law, "may collect religious tax", he said. "The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Justice collect the religious tax and redistribute it among the needy."

The Taliban's forced exactions from civilians, which the terror group calls "religious taxes", amount to "non-Islamic extortion", he said.

"It's an insurgent and terrorist group," he said. "Not a legitimate Islamic government."

The Taliban face complete annihilation once they lose both domestic and international financial resources, Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, a former governor of both Kunar and Herat provinces, told Salaam Times.

Whenever the Taliban have the ability, "they collect 'religious taxes' from farmers, landowners and livestock raisers", he said. "They also take away civilians' food, firewood and vehicles for combat use."

"If the Taliban's financial resources are drying out, it will have a consequential impact on the battlefield," he predicted.

Afghan people will be ultimate winners

The Taliban lost an experienced drug dealer when Mansoor died, Muhammad Dawood Kalkani, a Kabul-based member of parliament, told Salaam Times.

"The drug smuggler was already rich when he became the Taliban leader," he said. "He knew how to manage money too."

"The demise of this wealthy leader has caused the Taliban to face serious financial hardship," he said.

Without reliable, well-managed drug income, the Taliban "will never be able to guarantee their continued existence by collecting 'religious taxes'," Kalkani added.

Severe problems lie ahead for the Taliban, to the benefit of the government and the people, once a financial crunch sets in, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman, Nabi Mesdaq, told Salaam Times.

"The Taliban won't be able to recruit fighters or buy weapons," he said.

Meanwhile, the Taliban's continued extortion of money from civilians will lead to anti-Taliban uprisings, he added.

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A great and valuable news!

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