Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 18
Days after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, it has emerged that the Army in the strife-torn nation was made up of “ghost soldiers&r
MPs Question $893M Allocated for Govt Expenses
A lawmaker said that the current fiscal year’s budget is inappropriate considering the economic state of the country.
As the Afghan parliament continues assessing the current fiscal year’s budget, lawmakers have highlighted the Ministry of Finance s allocation of Afs 69 billion ($893 million) for Code 22, which is used for the purchase of furniture, food, travel expenses, and the maintenance of buildings, equipment and vehicles for government operations, among other things.
Members of the finance and budget committee of the parliament said that they don’t see any savings in the current year’s budget plan. The current fiscal year started on December 21, 2020, but so far the budget has not been approved by the parliament.
MPs Explain Rejection of Budget Plan
Lawmakers on Sunday said that the rejection of the budget plan for the second time occurred for many reasons, namely the ambiguity around a Afs15 billion ($193.8 million) increase in the ordinary budget for the current fiscal year that started on December 21.
The financial and budget committee of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament, said that, based on the budget plan, the government is removing 13,000 public servants, but it has increased the ordinary budget from which the salaries of government employees are paid.
The parliament on Saturday rejected the budget plan for the second time, calling on the government to consider their recommendations to an amended draft.
24 Dec 2020
KABUL, Afghanistan Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller said, after a visit to Afghanistan this week, he feels confident that President Donald Trump’s drawdown to 2,500 troops there is the right call.
“I actually walked out of there pretty confident we’re in a right stance right now,” Miller told four reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan, including one from Breitbart News.
Miller arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to visit American troops stationed there over the holidays, as well as to get a sense of how the drawdown is going. Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from 4,500 down to 2,500 last month the lowest number in almost two decades.
NATO Backs Afghan Forces with Medical Supplies December 13,2020
KABUL - The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has operated several chartered flights to Afghanistan, transporting hundreds of tonnes of pharmaceutical supplies to the Afghan national army and police. The consisted of pain relievers, vitamins, antibiotic pills and ointments, polio vaccine, hand sanitiser, IV fluids and other critical medicines. In a statement on Saturday, NATO hoped the supplies would help Afghan forces improve their standard of care and reduce the risk of harm and infection to service personnel. Additional flights will be operated through the end of the year an effort funded by the NATO-run Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund as part of the extensive support provided by the Support and Procurement Agency.