![]() To battle its insurgency, the Afghan government also spends heavily on war, often at the expense of basic public services and economic development.Ī peace agreement in Afghanistan would allow the government to redirect its scarce resources. Who funds the Afghan government?įor nearly 20 years, the Taliban’s great wealth has financed mayhem, destruction and death in Afghanistan. Experts say these funds could amount to as much as $500 million a year, but it is difficult to put an exact figure on this income stream. Today, the governments of Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are all believed to bankroll the Taliban, according to numerous U.S. Specific countriesĪccording to BBC reporting, a classified CIA report estimated in 2008 that the Taliban had received $106 million from foreign sources, in particular from the Gulf states. Yaqoob told NATO annual real estate revenue is around $80 million. The Taliban own real estate in Afghanistan, Pakistan and potentially other countries, according to Mullah Yaqoob and the Pakistani TV Channel SAMAA. This figure includes the export of poppy and looted minerals, so there may be financial overlap with drug revenue and mining revenue. The Taliban’s net income from exports is thought to be around $240 million a year. ![]() Known business affiliates include the multinational Noorzai Brothers Limited, which imports auto parts and sells reassembled vehicles and spare automobile parts. In part to launder illicit money, the Taliban import and export various everyday consumer goods, according to the United Nations Security Council. Norrullah Shirzada/AFP via Getty Images 5. The Taliban’s insurgency has destabilized Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. Private citizens from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and some Persian Gulf nations also help finance the Taliban, contributing another $60 million annually to the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network, according to American counterterrorism agencies. Treasury Department’s list of groups that finance terrorism. Those donations add up to about $150 million to $200 million each year, according to the Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies. Many Taliban donations are from charities and private trusts located in Persian Gulf countries, a region historically sympathetic to the group’s religious insurgency. The Taliban receive covert financial contributions from private donors and international institutions across the globe. Since some of those taxed are poppy growers, there could be some financial overlap between tax revenue and drug revenue. The group also imposes a traditional Islamic form of taxation called “ushr” – which is a 10% tax on a farmer’s harvest – and “zakat,” a 2.5% wealth tax.Īccording to Mullah Yaqoob, tax revenues – which may also be considered extortion – bring in around $160 million annually. ![]() Drivers are also charged for using highways in Taliban-controlled regions, and shopkeepers pay the Taliban for the right to do business. “Taxed” industries include mining operations, media, telecommunications and development projects funded by international aid. They even issue official receipts of tax payment. Like a government, the Taliban tax people and industries in the growing swath of Afghanistan under their control. NATO estimates that figure higher, at $464 million – up from just $35 million in 2016. Those who don’t pay have faced death threats.Īccording to the Taliban’s Stones and Mines Commission, or Da Dabaro Comisyoon, the group earns $400 million a year from mining. Both small-scale mineral-extraction operations and big Afghan mining companies pay Taliban militants to allow them to keep their businesses running. Mining iron ore, marble, copper, gold, zinc and other metals and rare-earth minerals in mountainous Afghanistan is an increasingly lucrative business for the Taliban. Noorullah Shirzada/AFP via Getty Images 2. Afghan farmers harvest opium sap from a poppy field in the Darra-i-Nur District of Nangarhar province May 10.
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