The Taliban have recently announced that they would be offering cash and plots of land to the family members of suicide bombers that attacked United States and Afghan forces, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said on Twitter on Tuesday.
The social media post, which was written in English, mirrored a previous announcement made by acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani the day before. At the time, the official offered clothes and roughly $112 worth of incentives to dozens of male family members of "martyred" bombers who lost their lives for Islamic "jihad and sacrifices."
Cash and Land for Families of Suicide Bombers
Saeed Khosty, the spokesman, added that Haqqani considered the dead bombers as heroes of both Islam and the country. In a statement, he urged the people not to betray the aspirations of the martyrs who gave up their lives.
Due to the acting interior minister's announcements, many believe that extreme aggression could once again resurface in the war-torn country that is now governed by the Taliban. It also comes in contrast to the militant group's previous commitments of peace and democracy following their takeover of Kabul, Fox News reported.
After the meeting where the announcement was made, Haqqani distributed the money incentive worth 10,000 afghanis ($112) to each family of suicide bombers. Khosty later posted photographs of Haqqani with his face blurred embracing the relatives in a packed auditorium.
The comments follow the Taliban's attempts to open diplomatic channels with an international community that has been largely opposed to formally recognizing the militant group's government in Afghanistan. Many high-profile Taliban meetings have discussed with foreign officials the need for aid in the region due to the economic instability.
However, the United Nations predicts that virtually the entire population of Afghanistan will enter poverty because of the severe economic devastation. The Taliban's announcement of rewards for suicide bombers is a sharp contrast to the militant group's leadership, ABC News reported.
Afghanistan's Devastated Economy
Afghanistan's economy is fast approaching the brink of devastation following the Taliban taking control of the country's government. The militant group is now struggling to address growing issues of poverty and hunger among its people.
Taliban officials have resorted to ordering financial managers of the previous Afghan government to get back to work with an urgent objective: do your jobs, because we can't. In the last 20 years since the militant group last ruled the nation, the economy has shifted from mostly illicit enterprise to a sophisticated multi-billion-dollar system.
The militant group has had difficulties in taking control of the transformation of the country's economy. This has resulted in officials ordering bureaucrats from the previous government's Finance Ministry, central bank, and other state-owned banks to get back to work. Three Taliban officials confirmed the accounts.
"They told us, 'We are not experts, you know what is better for the country, how we can survive under these challenges'," one state bank official recalled. The individual, similar to others, spoke on the condition of anonymity due to not being allowed to speak on record and may have been put in danger if his identity was leaked, the Associated Press reported.
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