ISTANBUL

The interim Afghan administration approved its annual budget on Tuesday, the third since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in Aug. 2021.

The interim government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has “ratified” the national budget for fiscal 2024-25 after “thorough review and consideration."

Mujahid, however, did not reveal the amount of budget approved to be spent until next March in the war-torn nation, where people are struggling to meet their basic needs due to decades of war as well as natural disasters.

He emphasized that the budget is “designed to address the needs and priorities of the Afghan people.”

He claimed that the budget is “entirely funded from domestic revenues, similar to the previous year.”

The spokesman said the interim Finance Ministry will “integrate” the national budget into the country's financial system, ensuring that all associated sectors are managed with "full transparency and according to standard procedures."

Nine months after the return of the Afghan Taliban to Kabul, the interim government unveiled the country’s first annual budget in May 2022, totaling 231.4 billion Afghanis (about $2.6 billion), with a deficit of around 44 billion Afghanis, or nearly $500 million.