Financial assistance from a Gulf Arab country to the Taliban; meant for relocating families of Pakistani Taliban (TTP) fighters, has been suspended due to a lack of transparency and suspected misuse, reliable sources confirmed on Friday.
The $6 million aid package, part of a pilot project, was intended to resettle approximately 2,000 TTP families in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province. But the Taliban failed to provide any documentation regarding how the funds were spent or details on the families’ relocation, prompting the donor country to halt further disbursement. Future assistance has now been made conditional on transparency and accountability.
According to sources, the Taliban covertly relocated dozens of TTP families from Camp Glan in Khost and border areas of Paktika to camps in Ghazni. Each family member is reportedly being paid $40 per month. However, no records of these families were shared with the donor, and the funds are now suspected to have been lost to corruption.
The Taliban had earlier asked Pakistan to support relocating TTP fighters from eastern and southern Afghanistan to other regions, such as Ghazni and Helmand. But the plan faltered after TTP fighters refused to leave their strongholds, mainly in Nangarhar, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar.
Pakistan had also considered a PKR 30 billion resettlement plan but backed out, citing mistrust in the Taliban’s assurances. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif later revealed that the Taliban had demanded PKR 10 billion to remove TTP fighters from the border regions but failed to offer any guarantees they wouldn’t return to Pakistan.
Islamabad continues to accuse the Afghan Taliban of harboring and cooperating with the TTP, estimating that over 6,000 TTP militants are currently operating from inside Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, Pakistani warplanes struck suspected TTP hideouts in Khost and Nangarhar, drawing a sharp warning from the Taliban and a diplomatic protest to Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul. Islamabad has yet to officially respond.
The relocation issue was expected to surface during a planned visit to Islamabad by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, but the UN Security Council blocked his travel request, reportedly under U.S. pressure, as Muttaqi remains under international sanctions.
In 2022, Taliban officials had reportedly agreed with Pakistan to move TTP militants to northern Afghanistan and disarm them. But that plan, too, appears to have collapsed amid growing distrust.
Once again, Afghanistan’s duplicity stands exposed: funds received in the name of peace, yet terrorism continues to be funded, sheltered, and strategically ignored.
