KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban distributes 12 billion Afghani, or over $168 million, annually to the families of members who carried out suicide attacks against the former government and its Western allies, the group’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.
In an interview with the Taliban-controlled National Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA), Mujahid said that this amount exceeds the budgets of three ministries. The Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs is responsible for distributing the funds to the families and orphans of suicide bombers, he said.
Mujahid added that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has instructed local authorities to prioritize support for the families of suicide bombers, whom the group refers to as “martyrs” and “self-sacrificing individuals.”
The Taliban’s suicide bombers have been behind some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan’s recent history, causing hundreds of deaths, including civilians, US and NATO soldiers, and former government employees.
The exact number of individuals who carried out suicide attacks over the past decades remains unclear. However, in 2022, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network and the Taliban’s interior minister, revealed that at least 1,050 members of his group had conducted suicide attacks against the former government and Western forces.
The Taliban, particularly the Haqqani Network, has been widely accused of brainwashing and training children to carry out these attacks, particularly in urban areas across the country.
This significant financial allocation comes at a time when Afghanistan is grappling with a severe economic and humanitarian crisis. Over half of the country’s population, mostly women and children, now rely on international aid for survival. The World Food Programme has warned that approximately 15 million people—around one-third of the population—are facing acute food insecurity.
In addition, the Taliban is reportedly struggling to pay salaries to thousands of government employees, many of whom have not been paid for the past three months.
When it comes to Afghanistan’s dire humanitarian situation and struggling economy, the Taliban argue that these conditions are divinely ordained. In his recent speech, the Taliban reclusive leader said that both “wealth and poverty are decreed by God,” urging the Afghan people to be grateful for simply being alive and not to complain about their circumstances.
