Impact of security turmoil on Afghan banking and humanitarian situation after Taliban takeover

Mohamed Yosri

The Taliban is trying to appear more moderate than before through messages of reassurance directed at home and abroad, suggesting that it has retreated from its previous path from 20 years ago. However, the movement’s sincerity in these messages is still being tested, especially in the areas of human rights in Afghanistan and the pledges it has made about reining in terrorist groups.

International test

The actions of the Taliban are still under international and local testing, and this confirms that the movement has not yet gained the confidence at home or internationally, and that everyone is waiting for it to translate its words into actions on the ground.

This was indicated by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in media statements on Sunday, August 29, during which he stressed that diplomatic recognition of the Taliban as the new regime in Afghanistan will depend on the actions of the movement, stressing that the United Kingdom will deal with the Taliban not on the basis of what they say, but according to what they do.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said during his participation in the Baghdad Conference, which was held on Saturday, August 27, that there are preliminary discussions with the Taliban on humanitarian issues.

Taliban’s initiatives

The Taliban movement recently tried to appear as a protector of religious freedoms in the country, beginning with allowing the Shiite sects to celebrate Ashura for the first time in twenty years, and the celebrations passed under the protection of the Taliban, with the movement’s leaders issuing instructions to protect the celebrations in the Mazar-i-Sharif area.

Contradictions on the ground

Despite these actions, the Taliban did not gain the confidence of the Afghan street, which sees that what the movement announces in its local and private media is changing rapidly. The Taliban had announced before the fall of Kabul that it would not enter it, and the movement’s spokesman said at the time on social media, “We are at the gates of the entrance to Kabul and we will not enter until the final decision.” Meanwhile, the movement’s elements were taking their places all over the city.

Banking sector

Control of the country’s banking and financial system comes at the top of internal fears in Afghanistan, which began to bring about changes in the sector’s leaders. The Taliban announced on Monday, August 23, the appointment of an acting governor for the Afghanistan’s central bank. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid justified this decision as to address the problems of citizens, saying, “Haji Mohammad Idris was appointed as acting governor of Da Afghanistan Bank by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate for the purpose of regulating government institutions and banking issues and addressing people’s problems.”

A spokesman for the World Bank said after a meeting of the board of directors on Tuesday, August 24, “The international financial institution stopped disbursing funds for its operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban movement took control of the country, and it is closely monitoring the situation there.”

Money transfer giant Western Union has also suspended money transfer services to Afghanistan “until further notice.”

These developments on the ground affected the price of foodstuffs and fuel in Kabul markets, rising by 10 percent within one week.

Warnings of humanitarian disasters

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a statement on Saturday, August 28, warning of an awaiting humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan as a result of the political and security turmoil following the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

The statement called on countries around the world to continue humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, noting that the country is suffering from a severe drought along with political and social instability in the wake of the Taliban’s seizure of power.

The FAO stated that the situation calls for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid, warning that the worsening drought threatens the livelihoods of more than seven million people who depend on agriculture or livestock for their livelihood.

It added that many of these people are among the 14 million Afghans out of the 38 million already living in acute food insecurity.