Assadullah Omarkhail, the governor of northern Kunduz province, on Monday confirmed that the provincial administration paid death benefits to between 50 or 60 Taliban families in the province.
 
He said that the move was part of government’s generosity.
 
But, families of fallen soldiers and some military experts have blasted the governor for this, saying the move was unacceptable and illegal.
 
“I swear that 50 to 60 of these families who lost their members came and asked me for the money of the martyrs, all of them (Taliban members) were eliminated during the war, so we told the nation that the government has that much generosity,” said Omarkhail.
 
Mahtab is the mother of an Afghan National Army (ANA) officer who died while fighting for his country a few months ago. She claims that there has not been any support from government since the death of her son.
 
“The government does not support us and instead supports the Taliban; my son was our breadwinner,” said Mahtab.
 
“The one who has provided the money must be held accountable,” said former military officer Atiqullah Amarkhail.
 
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has said that it has launched an investigation into the report.
 
“If such people commit some sort of violation and embezzle the rights of the martyrs, naturally they must be tackled legally,” said Najib Danish, spokesman for the MoI.
 
The Afghan government pays 100,000 AFs to the families of fallen soldiers. However these families struggle to get the money. But the question before the people is how does the Taliban get access to the money despite them being in an armed struggle against the people and the security forces.