- Following Pakistan’s repeated calls for Kabul to prevent terrorist groups from using its territory, US Congressman Tim Burchett wrote to President-elect Donald Trump expressing concerns about foreign aid going to the Afghan Taliban.
- Burchett stated, “The US should not fund its enemies abroad.”
- He referred to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s confirmation that NGOs had paid nearly $10 million in taxes to the Taliban, which cannot be tracked once auctioned off.
- Burchett warned that this funding enables the Taliban to finance terrorism globally.
- He also mentioned his failed attempt in 2023 to introduce legislation that would discourage foreign support for the Taliban and mandate reporting on Taliban’s influence over Afghanistan’s Central Bank.
- The significance of this letter is heightened by Trump’s role in negotiating the “Doha Agreement” in 2020, which led to the fall of Kabul and the US withdrawal in 2021.
- Burchett urged Trump to act and end wasteful foreign aid spending, pledging to reintroduce his legislation in the 119th Congress and seeking Trump’s support.
The letter gained attention after increased terrorist attacks in Pakistan, some of which involved militants working with the Afghan Taliban.
