Fresh reports from Afghan media have cast a troubling shadow over Afghanistan’s economic direction, revealing budgetary decisions by the Taliban regime that have intensified concerns about governance, transparency, and the country’s already fragile future.
According to these reports, the Taliban administration has spent 88 percent of the national budget on non-development expenditures, leaving Afghanistan’s economic revival and public welfare on the margins. The development budget has reportedly collapsed from 131 billion Afghanis to just 24 billion Afghanis, marking a dramatic retreat from investment in infrastructure, livelihoods, healthcare, education, and basic services desperately needed by the population.
Projects worth nearly 60 billion Afghanis have, according to the same sources, been reduced to little more than symbolic gestures, with minimal real-world impact. At a time when millions of Afghans face poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity, the sharp contraction in development spending paints a bleak picture of a country drifting further away from recovery.
The reports further indicate that economic and social sectors have been removed from the regime’s list of priorities, reinforcing perceptions that public welfare has taken a back seat to other interests. This shift has deepened fears that Afghanistan’s long-term stability is being sacrificed, pushing the country further into isolation and dependence on humanitarian aid.
Adding to these concerns are allegations that the Taliban regime’s General Directorate manipulated or misappropriated 4.1 billion Afghanis from the national budget, raising serious questions about financial oversight and accountability. Such claims, if substantiated, point to systemic weaknesses in governance and further erode confidence in the administration’s ability to manage national resources responsibly.
In stark contrast to the cuts in development spending, a significant share of the budget has reportedly been allocated to Taliban fighters, while billions of Afghanis have been set aside for the personal security of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. This disproportionate focus on security and leadership protection has reinforced perceptions that the regime is more invested in consolidating power than addressing the daily struggles of ordinary citizens.
Collectively, these revelations project a deeply negative image of Afghanistan under Taliban rule one marked by shrinking development, opaque financial practices, and priorities that appear detached from the urgent needs of the population. As economic pressures mount and humanitarian conditions worsen, the reported budget choices raise unsettling questions about where the country is headed and who ultimately bears the cost of these decisions.
