Timothy Birdnow

Why is that our problem now? The Taliban wanted to rule, and certainly a lot of the people of Afghanistan don't mind them ruling, so it's their problem. If their economy is in ruins it will keep them occupied and away from us.

Afghanistan is 'weeks to months' from economic collapse, experts say

Afghanistan’s economy is headed toward collapse without swift action from the international community, experts have warned.

The country’s cash-based economy was struggling before the Taliban’s recent ascension, andthe Islamic movement’s sudden takeover has leftthe country’s finances in limbo — with assets frozen, banks closed and crucial foreign aid stalled.

There’s little faith that the hard-line Taliban will be able to turn things around. The Afghanistan Banks Association announced Monday on Facebook that the Taliban had appointed Haji Mohammad Idris as the acting governor of the central bank.

Gul Maqsood Sabit, a former deputy finance minister, said he had never heard of Idris.

"Not at all,” said Sabit, who lives in California and works as a lecturer at a community college. "This person is someone who served on the Taliban Economic Commission. He was a teacher in a [religious school] in Pakistan, and that’s where he came from, so that’s all thatwe know about this person, and now he’s managing the central bank. He probably has no experience at all.”

The new Taliban-led government has presented no evidence of Idris’ experience in finance or banking. The announcement came two days after the Taliban’s finance ministry declared that all government employees would be "paid as before.”

Afghanistan watchers and financial experts said it is the latest sign that without further intervention from the international community, the country’s economy could suffer even more than it has in recent weeks.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 11:08 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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