Afghan Finance Minister Quits, Leaves Country as Taliban Advance
Afghanistan’s acting finance minister Khalid Payenda has resigned and left the country after Taliban captured key customs posts.
(Bloomberg) -- Afghanistan’s acting finance minister Khalid Payenda has resigned and left the country after the Taliban captured key customs posts bleeding the administration of revenue, reinforcing the government’s isolation as the militants make swift gains.
Payenda has “resigned and left the country because Afghanistan is grappling with declining revenues after the takeover of the custom posts,” Finance Ministry spokesman Mohammad Rafi Tabe said in a phone interview Wednesday. The minister also had to travel abroad to visit his ailing wife “and wasn’t able to effectively handle his job at a time when the country is going through its worst economic and security situation,” Tabe added.
Payenda left for the U.S., the spokesman said.
The former minister tweeted Tuesday to say he was quitting his post but gave no reasons for it. The deputy minister for customs and revenues, Alem Shah Ibrahimi, will be in charge until a new appointment is announced.
Payenda wasn’t immediately available for comment.
As U.S. Troops Depart, What Future for Afghanistan?: QuickTake
With U.S. and NATO troops slated for a complete exit by Aug. 31, a resurgent Taliban have overrun several provincial capitals in recent days. The militants have also seized several crucial custom posts causing President Ashraf Ghani’s government to lose as much as $30 million in import duties last month alone. The taxes account for about half of Afghanistan’s total domestic revenues, estimated to be about 216.5 billion Afghanis this year.
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