US Provided Over $17 Billion In Aid To Afghanistan Following Withdrawal, SIGAR Reports

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said that since the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Washington has provided USD 17.19 billion in aid to the country.

This assistance includes humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan under Taliban control and the expenses of evacuating and accommodating former Afghan colleagues of the United States.

According to SIGAR's latest report released on Friday, over USD 2.8 billion has been allocated for humanitarian and developmental aid to Afghanistan.

Additionally, USD 5.36 billion of this assistance has been designated for the evacuation, accommodation, and expenses of former US colleagues in Afghanistan.

Apart from this, USD 5.53 billion has been spent on hosting Afghan refugees in the United States. SIGAR also noted the allocation of USD 3.5 billion from the Afghan Central Bank's assets to the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland among the US aid to Afghanistan.

The report emphasises that the United States remains the largest donor to Afghanistan under Taliban control.

ISIS

SIGAR stated in its report that ISIS-Khorasan continues to recruit forces in Afghanistan and the region.

The US Special Inspector for Afghanistan highlighted ISIS' focus on involving foreign citizens in its attacks and recruiting non-Salafists.

Despite the Taliban's claim that no terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan, reports suggest that organisers of deadly attacks in Iran and Pakistan received training in Afghanistan. Both Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are also active in the country.

The SIGAR report states that the Taliban's fight against ISIS-Khorasan is more focused on internal threats posed by the group than its external operations.