UN warns Afghanistan faces ‘total breakdown’ under Taliban unless world gives money

The world must let money flow into Afghanistan despite a Taliban government or leave millions to suffer poverty and hunger, the UN cautions.

A UN envoy on Thursday urged the world to keep money flowing into Afghanistan despite concerns over the Taliban government, warning the already poor country could otherwise suffer a historic breakdown.

Deborah Lyons, the secretary-general’s special representative on Afghanistan, called on the world at least to give a chance to the victorious Taliban as the Islamist insurgents turn to governance and confront a severe economic decline.

“A modus vivendi must be found – and quickly – that allows money to flow to Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order,” Lyons told a Security Council meeting.

If not, the result would be “a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations.”

Children stand at a camp for internally displaced people where new apartment buildings are located in Kabul. Picture: AFP

She warned that the new Afghan authorities cannot pay salaries and voiced alarm over a storm of crises including a plunging currency, sharply rising food and fuel prices, and a lack of cash at private banks.

Foreign donors led by the United States provided more than 75 per cent of the public expenditure under Afghanistan’s 20-year Western-backed government – and quickly stopped payments as it crumbled last month amid a US military withdrawal.

President Joe Biden’s administration has voiced openness on humanitarian aid but says that any direct economic lifeline, including unfreezing some $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets, will be contingent on Taliban actions including allowing safe passage to people to leave.

China said it will provide millions of dollars in emergency aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the form of food, winter weather supplies, and Covid-19 vaccines.

The announcement was made during the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, and the $31 million ($A42 million) in aid would be “for emergency use to the Afghan people”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunyin said.

The deal will see three million Covid-19 vaccine doses sent to Afghanistan, although it is not yet clear when they will arrive.

Chinese leaders have repeatedly said that the country would share its Covid-19 vaccines with the world, especially with poorer nations.

US SAYS TALIBAN ‘BUSINESSLIKE, COOPERATIVE’

The United States has praised the Taliban as businesslike and cooperative in facilitating the first evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan since the US military withdrawal.

The departure from Kabul to Doha on a chartered Qatar Airways flight on Thursday marked “a positive first step” with the new regime, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said.

“The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA,” she said in a statement, referring to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.

“They have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort.”

Evacuees from Afghanistan, including US citizens, arrive at Hamad International Airport in Qatar's capital Doha. Picture: AFP

Nearly 40 US citizens or permanent residents were invited to board the flight but only 21 were on board, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet late Thursday.

“Of course we would like to see more such flights,” he had said earlier.

“We have heard public statements that more, in fact, may be forthcoming.”

The United States had previously said that a little more than 100 Americans were believed to remain in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden ended the 20-year military mission in August.

Price said that most Americans remaining had connections in Afghanistan and had to make “wrenching” decisions on whether to leave and did not need to decide now.

“This opportunity doesn’t expire if they turn it down one day, if they change their mind the next or even next year,” Price said.

The flight carrying foreigners was the first out of the Afghan capital since the conclusion of the US withdrawal. Picture: AFP

PHOTO OF TALIBAN’S BRUTAL BEATING SHOCKS WORLD

Two Afghan journalists were beaten in police custody this week after covering a protest by women in Kabul where they were detained by the Taliban, their editor said.

Zaki Daryabi, founder and editor-in-chief of the Etilaat Roz newspaper, shared images on social media of two male reporters, one with large, red welts across his lower back and legs and the other with similar marks on his shoulder and arm.

Both men’s faces were also bruised and cut in the pictures, which were verified by Reuters.

When asked about the incident, an acting Taliban minister, who was named in his post when the new government was announced on Tuesday, said that any attack on journalists would be investigated. He declined to be identified.

Daryabi said the beatings sent a chilling message to the media in Afghanistan, where an independent press, much of it funded by Western donors, has flourished in the last 20 years.

“Five colleagues were kept in a detention centre for more than 4 hours, and during these four hours two of our colleagues were beaten and tortured brutally,” he told Reuters on Thursday, the day after the incident.

He said the injured reporters were taken to hospital and advised by doctors to take two weeks’ rest.

The Taliban, who swept into the capital Kabul on Aug. 15 and now rule Afghanistan again after fighting a 20-year insurgency against foreign and Afghan forces, have vowed to allow the media to operate and respect people’s human rights.

But incidents of abuse since they came to power have raised doubts among some Afghans.

Taqi Daryabi, one of the two Etilaat Roz journalists, said seven or eight people beat them for about 10 minutes.

“They would raise sticks and beat us with all of their strength. After they beat us, they saw that we had passed out. They took us to lock us up in a cell with a few others,” he said. Reuters could not independently verify his account.

The last time the Taliban ruled the country from 1996-2001 there was no independent media and the internet was in its infancy.

Several journalists have complained of assault since the Taliban returned to power, and some women have said they were not allowed to carry on working in media jobs.

Under the first Taliban rule, women were banned from work and education. The group has said in recent weeks that women will be allowed to work and attend university within the parameters of Islamic law.

“With the sudden collapse of the government, Etilaat Roz initially decided to stay and operate in the hope that there would be no big issue for media and journalists,” Daryabi said.

“But with the yesterday’s incident, that little hope I had for the future of media and journalists in country is destroyed.”

Originally published as UN warns Afghanistan faces ‘total breakdown’ under Taliban unless world gives money