Taliban passes Afghanistan’s first annual budget without foreign aid

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 12 (ANI): Taliban has passed the first annual budget for “the next fiscal year 1401” without foreign aids amidst concerns over the brewing humanitarian crisis in the strife-torn country after the US withdrawal.

Khaama Press reported that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a meeting on Tuesday assessed the budget of the last quarter of the current year and discussed changes in the period of a fiscal year. Previously, a fiscal year would include one quarter-last quarter-of one year and three-quarters of next.

In the meeting, it was decided that the fiscal year would start to form the month of Hamal-first month of a solar year- and will end on the month of Hoot-last month of a solar year. Citing a statement, Khaama Press said that this is the first time that Afghanistan‘s budget is prepared from domestic income and without foreign aid.

In the past twenty years, Afghanistan‘s 80 percent budget was funded by International Community. International donors suspended financial aid when the Taliban seized power in August and Western powers also froze access to billions of dollars in assets held abroad.

Since the Taliban‘s takeover on August 15 this year, government employees have only been paid their one-month salaries and Taliban promised to pay before the end of the fiscal year. (ANI)