Taliban interfering with aid, resisting cash plan: UN

UNITED NATIONS: Afghanistan's rulingTalibanareresistingefforts by the United Nations to help get humanitarian funding into the country and areinterferingin the delivery ofaid,UN aidchief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday.

Since the Taliban took over in August as US-led forces withdrew after two decades of war, international banks are wary of testing UN and US sanctions, leaving the United Nations and aid groups struggling to deliver enough cash to run operations.

"The formal banking system continues to block transfers due to excessive de-risking, impacting payment channels and causing breakdowns in supply chains," Griffiths told the 15-member Security Council.

The United Nations has been trying to kickstart a system—described as a Humanitarian Exchange Facility (HEF)—to swap millions of aid dollars for Afghan currency in a plan to stem aid and economic crises and bypass Taliban leaders who are under sanctions.

"We have seen limited progress because of resistance by the de-facto authorities. This is an issue that is not going to fix itself," saidGriffiths, adding that until Afghanistan's formal banking system could operate properly again, the United Nations needed to get the Humanitarian Exchange Facility up and running.

He saidabout half theaidgroups recently surveyed by the United Nations reported difficulty transferring funds into Afghanistan, down from 87% in October, adding: "The direction of travel is positive, but the figure remains alarming."

Griffiths saidtwo-thirds of theaidgroups cited a lack of availablecashin Afghanistan as impeding their programs.

Griffiths said Talibanauthorities are also increasinglyinterferingwith the delivery of humanitarianaid, despite a pledge toUN officials in September that they would not.

"National and local authorities are increasingly seeking to play a role in the selection of beneficiaries and channeling assistance to people on their own priority lists, citing an almost universal level of need," he said.

"We are also seeing more demands by theTalibanfor data and information with regards to budget and staffing contracts," he said, adding thataidgroups "face continued difficulties as they try to hire Afghan women for certain functions."

TheTalibancould not be immediately reached for comment on Griffiths' remarks.

Griffiths saidthe United Nations had only received one-third of the $4.4 billion it needed to meet humanitarian needs in Afghanistan in 2022. "We simply do not have enough funding," he said.

The council met for its quarterly meeting in Afghanistan a day after an earthquake killed at least 1,000 people in a remote part of the country.

Afghan Taliban say rescue effort almost complete

Poor communications and a lack of proper roads are hampering reliefefforts in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis that has deteriorated since theTalibantook over last August.

"Therescueoperation has finished; nooneis trapped under (the) rubble," Mohammad Ismail Muawiyah, a spokesman for the topTalibanmilitary commander in the hardest-hit Paktika province, told Reuters.

Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesperson for the disaster ministry, told Reutersrescueoperations had finished in major districts but were continuing in some isolated areas.

The United Nations said on Thursday that theTalibanministry of defense had indicated as early as Wednesday that 90 per cent of search andrescueoperations had beencompleted.

Two retired officers in Nepal involved in the aftermath of the 2015 quake that killed 9,000 people expressed surprise that the rescue operation could be close to completion so soon, but one noted that if most damaged homes were small, it was possible.

Theearthquakekilled about1,000people and injured another 1,500, Muawiyah said. More than 3,000 houses were destroyed.

The death toll makes itAfghanistan's deadliestearthquakein two decades, according to US government data.

About1,000people had beenrescued by Thursdaymorning, Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the health ministry, told Reuters.

"Aid has arrived in the area and it is continuing, but more is needed," he said.

The town of Gayan, close to the epicentre, sustained significant damage, with most of its mud-walled buildings damaged orcompletely collapsed, a Reuters team said.

The town, with only the most basic roads, was bustling withTalibansoldiers and ambulances as a helicopter bringing in relief supplies landed nearby, whipping up huge swirls of dust. About 300 people sat on the ground waiting for supplies.