Some residents of Khost Province, in a protest gathering in front of the Directorate of Public Health of this province, have accused Taliban officials of administrative corruption, abuse of authority, and theft. Protesters claim that the Khost Directorate of Public Health, under Taliban control, has taken cash payments of 500 Afghanis from at least 400 female volunteers for registration at a health organization under the guise of document attestation. They accuse the Taliban of distributing registration cards for the exam to only 50 individuals while pocketing the money of the remaining 350.
However, Taliban officials in this province have stated that they have not taken any money and that protesters must prove their allegations.
Dozens of Khost Province residents protested yesterday in front of the Taliban Directorate of Public Health in this province. Protesters accuse local officials of theft, abuse of authority, and administrative corruption. They claim that the Taliban have taken cash payments of 500 Afghanis from each of 400 female volunteers for participation in an exam administered by an organization under the guise of “document attestation” and issuance of registration cards, but only provided 50 individuals with exam attendance cards.
Protesters allege that the Taliban have not refunded the money of the remaining 350 individuals and have pocketed 175,000 Afghanis. They argue that the examination process conducted by organizations is not transparent and that Taliban officials extensively interfere in it.
Some protesters still claim that the Taliban have recruited 30 selected individuals for positions such as Nursing and Midwifery through bribery, and appointed them in the center of the province as well as in other districts of this province.
Yesterday, Mangal Khan, a protester in Khost, revealed that he had acquired an exam registration form for his nephew, a graduate of a local health institute. Despite paying the fee, the Taliban barred his nephew from taking the exam. Khan confronted them, saying, “You took our money, collected our documents, promised approval, and instructed us to retrieve the cards before the exam. Now, what’s your response? If my nephew’s documents are invalid, prove it! He studied here and holds a certificate from the same Directorate of Public Health.”
Mushfiq, another protester, accuses the Taliban of transforming the Khost Directorate of Public Health into a marketplace. He claims that the group’s authorities are selling government and organizations’ positions. He stated, “If it’s not a marketplace, then what is it? You took 500 Afghanis from each of the 400 people, which is a significant sum. Some individuals received exam cards due to their connections or higher payments. Now, the Taliban must explain why this is happening. What issues did others face with their documents, and who pocketed the money from the less fortunate?”
Mr. Mushfiq, quoting a local Taliban official who denied taking money from volunteers, says, “A public health official [Taliban] showed great indifference to our protest, saying we haven’t taken any money from you, you have no evidence or proof.”
However, local Taliban officials in the Khost Directorate of Public Health have not officially commented on this matter as of the preparation of this report.
This protest comes amidst previous reports of Taliban interference in domestic and foreign organizations. Over the past three years, this group has been repeatedly accused of corruption and nepotism in government appointments but has always claimed to have reduced corruption and nepotism in government offices to zero.
Meanwhile, numerous reports of nepotism, corruption, and embezzlement of public assets by the Taliban have been published by the media, in which senior members of this group have also been implicated.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
معترضان در خوست: طالبان پول داوطلبان امتحان را دزدیدهاند؛ طالبان: پول نگرفتهایم
