KABUL: The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has suspended the payment of salaries for all government employees until further notice, according to Afghan media reports.
Afghan media reported the occurrence of such a harsh measure in the context of the Taliban authorities by quoting a senior official from the Ministry of Finance and other sources, and the application of the directive was already mandated to all ministries and government institutions. Up to now, the Taliban have refrained from officially justifying their decision and have ignored the media.
Despite the fact that the Taliban regime has delayed the payment of salaries at times, Afghan media have pointed out that this is the very first instance of payments being completely cut off without any assurance of resumption delay being given, thus marking the case as an unusual one with no date of resumption specified.
Numerous government employees remarked that the new payroll system is particularly challenging as most of their relatives are already living in a very bad financial condition because of an extremely cold winter. An employee, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated that although the salary and benefits are rather low, they can still afford rent and cover some basic needs of the household.
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 and the nation has been experiencing a very serious economic crisis at the same time which is very severe. Salary and wage deductions, along with financial aid cuts and limitations put on banks as well as international funding sources, have made public sector workers one of the most affected groups due to the shortage in the budget.
The salary suspension is expected to further worsen economic hardships for thousands of government workers across the country.
Taliban bans video interviews of officials in Afghanistan’s Khost province
Earlier, the Afghan Taliban have imposed a ban on video interviews of government officials in Khost province, according to local media reports.
According to the sources that were quoted by the Afghan media, the department that is responsible for the promotion of good and prevention of vice has given instructions to the press officers and spokespersons of the government departments that they should not give video interviews to the media.
The directive not only prohibits video interviews but also restricts the publication of photos and videos from official meetings of government offices.
On Tuesday, spokespersons for the Khost Governor’s Office and the provincial police command informed local media that, following the ministry’s orders, they would no longer provide live images or video footage.
In recent days, both offices have also stopped posting photographs on social media platforms. Khost is now the 24th province in Afghanistan where the Taliban have formally restricted the dissemination of images and videos of officials.
