An official said on Monday that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former government that was backed by the United States. Among those departments was the country’s Human Rights Commission. The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan deemed these departments unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, the official said.
According to statements made by Taliban authorities on Saturday, when they announced their first annual national budget since taking control of the war-torn country a year ago in August, Afghanistan is projected to experience a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million) during the current fiscal year.
According to Innamullah Samangani, the deputy spokesperson for the Taliban administration, who spoke with Reuters, the ministries in question have been dissolved “because it was decided that they were not required and because they were not included in the budget.”
Also abolished were the once-powerful National Security Council, the panel responsible for supervising the implementation of the Afghan constitution, and the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR).
Former Afghan President Abdullah Abdullah served as the most recent leader of the High Council on National Reconciliation (HCNR), which was tasked with mediating peace talks between the government supported by the United States under former President Ashraf Ghani and the militant Taliban at the time.
The withdrawal of international soldiers from Afghanistan in August 2021, twenty years after the first invasion of the country, caused the Afghan government to fall apart, paving the way for a takeover by the Taliban.
Samangani said that the national budget was “based on objective facts” and was meant just for departments that had been active and productive in the previous year.
He went on to say that the corpses may be resurrected at a later date “if the necessity arose.”
From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban controlled Afghanistan with an iron grip and imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, which included prohibiting women from participating in the workforce or receiving an education. After gaining control of Afghanistan a year ago, the Taliban gave the world their word that they would govern with more moderation.
They have also introduced rules that require women and girls to wear veils and require them to have male relatives accompany them in public places. However, they have not yet allowed older girls to restart their education. In addition, they have not yet permitted older girls to continue their education.
