Sigar: American aid may legitimize the Taliban

The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has said in his new quarterly report to the US Congress that the country’s aid “may inadvertently give the Taliban international and domestic legitimacy.”

According to SIGAR, the United States has provided more than $8 billion in aid to Afghan citizens and refugees since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. In addition, the United States has spent 2.7 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2022 to transport, house and feed Afghan refugees.

According to SIGAR, the Taliban’s “institutionalized abuse of women” raises questions for US policymakers about whether the country, as the largest donor of humanitarian aid, can continue to provide aid to Afghanistan without benefiting the Taliban, or not.

It should be mentioned that according to the UN report, 28.3 million Afghans are dependent on international food aid this winter.