According to U.S. officials, the final speaker of the Afghan Republic’s parliament and his son were merrily robbing the country blind with various schemes tied particularly to fuel contracts.
Швидкий прихід руху "Талібан" до влади в Афганістані застав Захід зненацька. Ніхто не очікував, що афганські урядові війська здебільшого не протистоятимуть талібам.
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In November 2020, Tajik customs officials found 90 kilograms of gold (nearly 200 pounds) and $15 million about to be loaded onto a Dushanbe-Dubai flight.
By February 2021, Tajik authorities announced the arrest of an initial seven people alleged to be involved in the smuggling of gold and cash from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and on to Dubai. Shortly after, an Afghan TV channel aired its own allegations: that a high-ranking Afghan politician was involved.
Mohammad Mirza Katawazai, at the time deputy speaker of the Afghan parliament, denied any involvement. The TV channel alleged that Katawazai had met one-on-one with the Tajik ambassador in Kabul in an attempt to smooth the smuggling matter over. As RFE/RL noted, the channel did not provide its evidence for the allegations, but had aired them strategically to coincide with Katawazai arriving in Dushanbe as part of a parliamentary delegation on February 27. Katawazai reportedly resigned his post after returning to