Afghan Citizens are fed up with systematic corruption and favoritism in government institutions under Taliban control. Residents from various provinces complain that without paying bribes to Taliban officials, their tasks are not completed. Media reports indicate that many senior Taliban officials are involved in significant financial corruption, earning millions of dollars through large contracts.
Recently, “World Economics,” which analyzes and evaluates global economic data, reported that Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP), demographic data, and governance indicators under Taliban rule are suspicious. According to this organization, the Taliban’s data is unreliable and may have been manipulated. Previously, the George W. Bush Presidential Center published a report titled “Captured State,” asserting that the Taliban are entrenched in corruption and use systematic corruption to consolidate their power in Afghanistan. The center also stated that the Taliban regime should be understood as a “kleptocracy.”
Many citizens from different provinces complain about the administrative process and corruption in government institutions under Taliban control. They say that even for the most basic tasks, they are forced to spend days lingering at the doors of these institutions. Many of these citizens claim that contrary to the Taliban’s assertions, financial and administrative corruption has not decreased but increased under their regime.
Many citizens from various provinces have complaints about the Electronic ID Distribution Department, the passport office, the general directorate of the electricity company, the revenue departments, and other financial institutions involved in tax collection. According to them, to obtain driving licenses, permits, and other documents, they must pay bribes in addition to the legal fees; otherwise, their legal work is not processed, and they end up dealing with extensive paperwork from the Taliban.
Abdul Ali Jamshidi, one of the citizens, says he filled out the online form for a passport a year ago but has not yet received his turn. He claims that without paying a bribe, it is impossible to get a passport.
Jamshidi adds: “The Taliban have initiated a culture of looting. Brokers directly tell people to pay a certain amount to get a passport; otherwise, don’t waste your time. Now, either you must be a Taliban member or pay money, otherwise, if you die from an illness, no one will give you a passport to go to neighboring countries for treatment.”
This citizen emphasizes: “Now, if there is no outcry about corruption, it is because people are scared; otherwise, the Taliban would consume everything with their corruption. If someone raises their voice, they disappear the next morning. The media acts according to the Taliban’s wishes, and everything is in their favor, and people remain silent out of fear for their lives.”
Previously, the Hasht-e Subh Daily reported, citing Taliban officials, that corruption in their administration has significantly increased. Officials who have served during every period of Taliban rule have privately admitted that corruption in the current Taliban regime has increased by 80 to 90 percent compared to their previous rule.
Citizens complain about widespread corruption and bureaucratic red tape in government institutions under Taliban control, while senior officials of the group have been repeatedly accused of major corruption. Recently, Taliban leader Shahabuddin Delawar, acting head of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, was removed from this ministry and appointed as the head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.
This Taliban official is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the revenues of mines, especially the coal mines in Samangan province. He has been accused by Amrullah Saleh, the former first vice president, of looting around 25 million dollars, particularly from the revenues of Samangan coal.
Despite this, the Taliban have extensively claimed over the past three years that they have fought administrative corruption, increased GDP, and provided investment opportunities for domestic and foreign businessmen.
Meanwhile, a global organization named World Economics, in the latest details published in July this year about Afghanistan’s economic situation, has deemed the GDP and demographic data in Afghanistan as unusable. This organization stated that Afghanistan is unreliable based on governance indicators and may have interfered with the production of economic and demographic data.
The World Economics stated: “Afghanistan’s GDP and demographic data have a rating E, making them unusable for serious decision-making. Afghanistan’s governance index also has an E rating, meaning the government is unreliable and may have interfered in the production of economic and demographic data.”
According to the organization’s report, the growth of GDP and all demographic data in Afghanistan under Taliban rule are suspicious and unreliable. According to the findings of this organization, “all data such as GDP per capita, debt per capita, and others based on economic data produced by the Taliban government are suspicious and unreliable.”
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, in a report titled “Captured State,” has revealed the systematic corruption and misuse of public assets by the Taliban. The institute stated that the Taliban are entrenched in corruption and have relied on corrupt practices to consolidate their power in Afghanistan.
The report emphasized that some foreign actors are exploiting the instability in Afghanistan to advance their strategic interests. According to the report’s findings, Iran, China, and Russia, along with some multinational organizations, private sector entities, and financial institutions, benefit from participating in the corruption and theft that strengthens the Taliban’s power in Afghanistan.
In another report, the George W. Bush Presidential Center stated that Afghanistan under Taliban rule should be understood as a “Kleptocratic regime.” According to the institute, a mafia group has seized the state and is brutally suppressing it under the guise of fighting corruption. The report mentioned that after two decades of investment by the United States and its allies in institution-building, the country’s wealth is now being looted for personal gain.
The report stressed that the world cannot remain indifferent to the severe suffering of the Afghan people and the deeply destabilizing impact of the gender apartheid imposed by the Taliban. The report emphasized that Afghanistan has once again become a “haven for terrorism.”
Additionally, Transparency International, in a report, stated that Afghanistan under Taliban rule has dropped 12 places in the 2023 global corruption index, ranking 162nd.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
«دزدسالاری» و فساد سیستماتیک طالبان؛ آمارهای تولید ناخالص داخلی و جمعیت مشکوک است | روزنامه ۸صبح
