US Lawmakers Push to Halt Aid Potentially Reaching Taliban Authorities
As the United States seeks to restrict financial aid to Afghanistan, two Republican members of the House of Representatives have said that Senator Marco Rubio has pledged to suspend the delivery of aid to entities that could potentially divert US funds to the Taliban administration.
Tim Burchett, a congressman from Tennessee, stated that he met with the US Secretary of State, who assured him that any funding that could indirectly benefit the Taliban would be blocked. Burchett added that the goal is to ensure that American taxpayers’ money does not support groups lacking international legitimacy.
Another Republican representative, Anna Paulina Luna, said the Secretary of State emphasized that any charity or NGO posing a risk of diverting funds to the Taliban would be excluded from receiving US government aid.
In response, the Taliban-run Ministry of Economy said that humanitarian assistance should not be politicized. Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister at the ministry, stated: “We call on all countries, especially the United States, not to use humanitarian aid as a tool of political pressure and to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets.”
Aid experts have warned that the US funding cuts, which began months ago, have already led to severe budget shortages for many humanitarian organizations. They caution that continued cutbacks could jeopardize vital services such as food, healthcare, and shelter across various parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs has also warned about the drop in humanitarian funding, ranking Afghanistan as the third most aid-dependent country in the world after Sudan and Yemen. Experts note that the Taliban administration’s current policies—particularly those restricting women and civil society—are key factors in eroding global trust and reducing international assistance.
