The Taliban could raise tens of millions of dollars in customs revenue after seizing border crossings with Afghanistan’s neighbours, cutting off vital trade and income to the government in Kabul.
After Pakistan reopened a strategic crossing that was seized by the Taliban last month, officials in Kabul admitted the loss of frontier towns had cost the government more than $30 million (£22 million) over the past month.
The insurgents claim other neighbouring governments have struck a tacit deal with them to keep trade flowing.
The Taliban have captured border crossings to the north, west and south and fighters are manning border posts with Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, collecting tolls from lorries crossing the border, issuing receipts and undercutting the usual government levies. Overland trade is vital to the landlocked nation. The Taliban already imposed taxes on imports through checkpoints on roads under its control. Capturing the border posts has secured another lucrative source of income as trade recovers, however, and heaped humiliation on President Ghani’s government.
Afghanistan’s two main trade hubs, the Spin Buldak crossing with Pakistan and the Islam Qala post to Iran, also fell last month, along with the Sher Khan Bandar gateway with Tajikistan. Built by US soldiers for $40 million, the customs house and 670m bridge over the Panj river were hailed as a showcase for the American rebuilding project.
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David Mansfield, an expert on Taliban finances, said: “It is less a case of how much the Taliban make from capturing these border crossings and more about how much they deny the government and its allies. By grabbing these crossings the Taliban have denied significant revenue to the government as Kabul can no longer collect duty and direct taxes on the borders. Based on official reports, these crossings processed around $240 million of trade each month in 2020.”
Kabul says that most of the border posts lost to the Taliban are closed, but Pakistan reopened the Spin Boldak gateway last week and traders at Sher Khan Bandar said that lorries had resumed crossing from Tajikistan.
A Taliban spokesman said: “We assured [neighbouring] governments that routine customs work at the border will run as before. We don’t want to create problems for ordinary businessmen. We want to keep trade flowing.”
However, trade is far below previous levels, with drivers put off by the surge in violence. Said Mubin Shah Musamam, a former customs official, said: “If the borders open and the Taliban are not corrupt they will get about 300 million afghani (£2.7 million) a day from the whole country.”
Muhammad Tariq, who transports fabrics from Pakistan said that Afghan officials were charging them a second time when they unloaded their goods in government-held territory. “We are being double charged. When the truck reached Kandahar, officials also demanded money and would not accept the receipts given by the Taliban,” he said. “Under the Afghan government we were paying 25,000 rupees [£110] for each crossing, but the Taliban charge less than 10,000 from each truck.”
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Siddique Akbar, a lorry driver, said: “Since the Taliban came to power [at the border], nobody hassles us and there are no demands for extortion money. We were stranded there for 20 days as the Taliban took over. Now work has resumed. We hope for a good government under the Taliban.”
