UN proposes to pay US$6 million to the Taliban for security

The United Nations is proposing to pay nearly US$6 million (RM25.24 million) for protection in Afghanistan to Taliban-run Interior Ministry personnel, whose chief is under UN and US sanctions and wanted by the FBI, according to a UN document and a source familiar with the matter.

The proposed funds would be paid next year, mostly to subsidise the monthly wages of Taliban fighters guarding UN facilities and to provide them with a monthly food allowance under an expansion of an accord with the former US-backed Afghan government, the document reviewed by Reuters shows.

The plan underscores the persisting insecurity in Afghanistan following the Islamist Taliban’s takeover in August as the last US troops left, as well as...