Within a week of the withdrawal of US troops, the whole of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. An American-trained Afghan civilian government force surrendered to the Taliban without resistance. The Taliban eloquently held on to the US exit.
However, despite not being in power for two decades, the Taliban's struggle to stand on the battlefield against US forces is awe-inspiring. According to a 2016 report by Forbes Magazine, the Taliban is the fifth richest terrorist organization in the world. ISIS topped the list with annual revenue of Rs 14,800 crore. Forbes report mentioned the annual income of the Taliban is 2,900 crore in Indian currency.
The lion's share of their income
comes from drug trafficking and mining. A report released by NATO last year
also revealed a number of surprising details. The Taliban's revenue growth
is 400% increase in 2019-20 when compared to the 2016 Forbes report. The NATO
secret report clarifies the fact that the Taliban leadership is adopting a
policy of self-sufficiency to become an independent political and military
organization. Credible sources say the Taliban have reduced their reliance on
foreign funding and cooperation over the past few years. Talibans get 84% of
revenue from Drug trafficking in Afghanistan.
They cultivate the opium drug in 1.3 hectares in the Helmand region which was controlled by Afghan forces. U.S. forces target income sources of Talibans and destroy the 200 labs which are converted from heroin into drugs to consume when former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. The U.S. has spent nearly a trillion dollars in these 19 years fighting the Taliban directly or training Afghan forces. What has been achieved by spending so much? The answer is no. Now, with the seizure of power in Afghanistan, incomes will increase further. From a purely economic point of view, the return on investment by the Taliban is improving day by day. Business is growing as they quickly fill the gap left by US and NATO forces.
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