Pandemic Party Foul Caught On Snapchat

The ConversationThe Taliban are megarich – here’s where they get the money they use to wage war in AfghanistanThe Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001. In the fiscal year that ended in March 2020, the Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who revealed the Taliban’s income sources in a confidential report commissioned by NATO and later obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.In comparison, the Afghan government brought in $5.55 billion during the same period. The government is now in peace talks with the Taliban, seeking to end their 19-year insurgency.I study the Taliban’s finances as an economic policy analyst at the Center for Afghanistan Studies. Here’s where their money comes from. 1. Drugs – $416 millionAfghanistan accounted for approximately 84% of global opium production over the past five years, according to the United Nation’s World Drug Report 2020. Much of those illicit drug profits go to the Taliban, which manage opium in areas under their control. The group imposes a 10% tax on every link in the drug production chain,…
Read More