Sunday, September 19, 2021
Any support welcome
Taliban in Kunduz ask Germany for help
As under the overthrown previous government, Afghanistan is also dependent on foreign aid under the Taliban. A spokesman for the Islamists at the former military base in Kunduz is now appealing to “the entire international community, including Germany”.
The spokesman for the Taliban at the former military base in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan has asked Germany and other states for support. This could be investments, reconstruction projects “or any kind of humanitarian support for the government or the citizens of Afghanistan,” said Matiullah Ruhani of the German press agency in Kunduz. This request is addressed to “the entire international community including Germany”. The Taliban would “very much welcome” help.
The Taliban captured Kunduz on August 8th. A week later, the militant Islamists also took power in the Afghan capital Kabul. The last US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August. This ended the international military operation after almost 20 years. The province of Kunduz with the capital of the same name was a focus of Germany’s military and civilian engagement at this time.
Ruhani criticized that the international community had supported a “corrupt government” in Afghanistan for the past 20 years, but that it stopped helping when the Taliban came to power. The Taliban brought peace to Afghanistan. He emphasized: “We are not terrorists.” The provincial spokesman did not want to comment on the Taliban’s controversial women’s policy. Instead, he referred to the Taliban’s interim government in Kabul. Ruhani simply said that the Taliban valued all citizens, both women and men.
In view of the economic and humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, numerous countries had promised the country millions of euros in aid at a UN donor conference, despite the Taliban coming to power. With a commitment of 100 million euros in humanitarian aid, Germany is one of the top donors. The USA promised the equivalent of 54 million euros, Switzerland 30 million euros.
The German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, announced that the German funds should “primarily be brought to the people in Afghanistan via the United Nations organizations (…).” He is optimistic that this will also be possible under the Taliban now ruling in Afghanistan, even if “technical talks” are necessary with them. The minister had previously announced that any support for the country would not go beyond “pure emergency aid” for the population.