UN proposing to pay Taliban for security

WASHINGTON: The United Nations is proposing to pay nearly $6 million for protection in Afghanistan to Taliban-run interior ministry personnel, whose chief is under UN and US sanctions and wanted by the FBI, according to a UN document and a source.

The proposed funds would be paid next year mostly to subsidise the monthly wages of Taliban fighters guarding UN facilities and to provide them a monthly food allowance under an expansion of an accord with the former US-backed Afghan government, the document reviewed by Reuters shows.

Several experts said the proposed payments raise questions about whether they would violate US and UN sanctions on the Taliban and their top leaders.

Those under sanctions include deputy Taliban leader and interior ministry chief Sirajuddin

Haqqani.

He heads the Haqqani network, a faction blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks over 20 years of war. The US, which says Haqqani is close to Al-Qaeda, is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

UNSC adopts resolution to ease Afghan aid

The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution that facilitates humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which is on the verge of economic collapse, while keeping funds out of Taliban hands.

The resolution is a first step by the UN after months of wrangling over how to avert a humanitarian catastrophe amid economic meltdown in Afghanistan since the Taliban swept back to power.

Such assistance is “not a violation” of sanctions imposed on entities linked to the Taliban, the resolution states.