It took only several months for the Taliban to conquer all parts of Afghanistan. After conquering the country the Taliban has to deal with numerous problems. It needs many to pay for various services and goods. Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled central bank seized more than $12 million from cash as well as gold from former top government officials including Amrullah Saleh, more precisely nearly $12.4 million.
On Wednesday, the central bank made an interesting statement. The money and gold had been kept in officials’ houses. The Taliban-controlled central bank also made another statement. The central bank urged people to use the country’s local Afghani currency. Its statement comes at a time when local banks and companies are running short of money, especially U.S. dollars.
The Taliban is trying to recoup assets belonging to former government officials. The central bank controlled by the Taliban issued a circular to local banks. Is asked them to freeze the accounts of politically exposed individuals linked to the previous government.
Taliban and the country’s economy
The major issue for the Taliban is to transform their military victory into a long-lasting peacetime government. After decades of war, the security improved in the country, but its economy is in ruins despite hundreds of billions of dollars in development spending over the past 20 years.
Millions of people across the country are struggling to afford bare necessities. According to the World Food Programme food could run out by the end of September, pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation. International donors promised to provide more than $1 billion to prevent the collapse of the country.
For many Afghans the major priority is simple, all they need is not to die from hunger. The state of the country’s economy is really bad. It is really difficult to find a job in Afghanistan. People are trying to sell household goods at impromptu markets around the capital. Unfortunately, buyers are in short supply.
Taliban officials stated that they do not intend a repeat of the harsh fundamentalist rule of the previous government. For obvious reasons, the Taliban’s reputation is bad, so it could take years to improve its reputation.
The country’s government formed by the Taliban is working to get services up and running again. However, as the war recedes, resolving the economic crisis is looming as a bigger problem.
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