US approves bill to block cash flow to Taliban in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has voted in favor of a bill to prevent U.S. tax dollars from falling into the hands of the Taliban-led Afghan government. 

This move follows concerns over millions of dollars reportedly sent to Afghanistan after the Biden administration’s withdrawal from the country.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Burchett, aims to ensure the State Department doesn’t provide financial or material aid to the Taliban.

“The United States has sent over $5 billion in cash to Kabul,” Rep. Burchett said. “This money has been taxed and stolen by the Taliban, yet we continue to send it oddly enough. That definitely needs to end. The State Department needs to ensure that that any aid, whether financial or material, does not go to Taliban in Afghanistan. We need to have a clear understanding of the influence the Taliban has on, not just international aid, but the Afghan banking system as well.”

“This bill requires the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign countries and non-government organizations, NGOs, from providing financial and material support to the Taliban,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said. “That’s important for the United States of America. We don’t have an embassy there. We don’t have diplomatic relations with the Taliban.

“This includes by using U.S.-provided foreign assistance to discourage countries and organizations from providing support to the Taliban,” Chairman Mast added. “We don’t want American tax dollars, in any way, shape or form, going to the Taliban.”

Republicans have made this issue a key focus since last Congress, after it was revealed that nearly $40 million in weekly cash shipments were being sent to Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled central bank.

Additionally, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported in May 2024 that over $10 million had been paid to the Taliban in the form of taxes since their takeover in August 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later confirmed during testimony before the committee in December 2024 that roughly $10 million had indeed been paid to the Taliban in taxes.

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In response, the Taliban-led Afghan government denied the allegations, asserting that it had not received any direct financial assistance from the U.S.

According to Afghan media, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, stated: “The money referred to by the US was mostly spent on the withdrawal and evacuation of American forces from Afghanistan, or on the relocation and resettlement of Afghans who fled the country with them. It’s possible that a portion of it was also spent by international organizations under the label of humanitarian aid.”