SIGAR’s 68th and final report highlights a sharp drop in US aid to Afghanistan, ongoing Taliban restrictions on women’s rights, and concerns about aid politicisation. Afghan officials deny interference claims, while experts question the long-term impact of SIGAR’s oversight since its inception in 2008.
Representational Image. File Pic
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has released its 68th and last report, according to the news agency ANI.
The report discusses US aid to Afghanistan, the situation of women and girls, security, the economy, counter-narcotics efforts, recent developments, SIGAR's monitoring process, the completion of its mission, and the role of other US government agencies in overseeing Afghan affairs.
While the situation has been highly concerning, SIGAR claims in the report that the Taliban in Afghanistan has broadly stripped Afghan women and girls of their rights over the past nearly four years.
One of the political affairs analysts, Abdul Sadeq Hamidzoy, stated that "International institutions have so far highlighted public concerns in their reports but have taken no concrete action to resolve them," as cited by news agency ANI.
According to the report, it has also come to light that the US had allocated only around USD 342 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in fiscal year 2025, which is indeed a sharp drop from over USD 968 million in 2023, reported news agency ANI.
This steep reduction in aid does signify a lot of things going on inside Afghanistan and the United States’ role in that. At a time when Afghanistan's internal needs are growing, it has had significant effects on people's livelihoods too, making the situation a lot more worrisome.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy said that US aid to Afghanistan should not be politicised and rejects the claim that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan interferes in US assistance.
Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, stated, "The recent SIGAR report has both positive and negative aspects, but I want to emphasise two points: First, the US has politicised humanitarian aid, which contradicts humanitarian principles and international law. Second, it is alleged that the Islamic Emirate interferes in international aid, and we strongly and categorically reject this claim,” as cited by news agency ANI.
SIGAR issued its first quarterly report to the United States Congress in October 2008. Now that the body has completed its work, the issue remains: how successful and valuable was its oversight?
According to Idris Mohammadi Zazai, a political affairs analyst, "Since 2008, despite SIGAR's reports on administrative corruption, it has been neither prevented nor eradicated."
It is worth mentioning that SIGAR earlier claimed that the United States has provided more than USD 3.83 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2021.
(With inputs from ANI)
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