Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have dissolved five key departments of the former US-backed government, including the Human Rights Commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said on Monday.
Afghanistan faces a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis (US$506 million) this financial year, Taliban authorities said on Saturday as they announced their first annual national budget since taking over the war-torn nation in August last year.
“Because these departments were not deemed necessary and were not included in the budget, they have been dissolved,” Taliban government deputy spokesman Innamullah Samangani said.
Also dissolved was the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), the National Security Council and the commission for overseeing the implementation of the Afghan constitution.
The HCNR was last headed by former Afghan president Abdullah Abdullah and was working to negotiate a peace between the US-backed government of then-Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and the then-insurgent Taliban.
In August last year, 20 years after invading Afghanistan, foreign forces withdrew from the nation leading to the collapse of the government and a Taliban takeover.
Samangani said the national budget was “based on objective facts,” and intended only for departments that had been active and productive.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and implemented a harsh version of Islamic rule. After taking over last year, the Taliban said they would be more moderate.
However, they are yet to allow older girls to restart education, and have introduced rules that mandate that women and girls wear veils and require them to have male relatives accompany them in public places.
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