KABUL, Sept 16, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Afghanistan's central bank said Wednesday
that the Taliban had seized more than $12 million in cash and gold from the
homes of former government officials, as a financial crunch threatens the
Islamists' rule one month after they took back power.

  Most government employees have yet to return to work -- and in many cases
salaries had already not been paid for months -- leaving millions scrambling
to make ends meet.

  Even those with money in the bank are struggling, as branches limit
withdrawals to the equivalent of $200 a week -- with customers having to
queue for hours.

  And while remittances have resumed from abroad, customers awaiting funds at
international chains such as Western Union and MoneyGram complained Wednesday
that branches they visited had run out of cash.

  The bank has called on all transactions in the aid-dependent country to be
made in local currency.

  "All Afghans in the government and non-governmental organisations are asked
to use Afghani in their contracts and economic transactions," the central
bank said Wednesday.

  The bank later issued another statement saying Taliban fighters handed over
$12.3 million in cash and gold seized from the homes of officials from the
former government -- a large part of which was discovered at the home of
former vice president Amrullah Saleh.

  "The money recovered came from high-ranking officials... and a number of
national security agencies who kept cash and gold in their homes," the bank
said.

  "It is, however, still not known for what purpose they were kept."

  - Thanking donors -

  Abdul Rahim, a demobbed soldier in the former Afghan army, travelled nearly
1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from Faryab to the capital to try and collect
his backpay.

  "The branches of the banks are closed in the provinces," he told AFP
Wednesday, "and in Kabul, thousands of people queue to get their money out."

  "I have been going to the bank for the past three days, but in vain." The
Taliban on Tuesday thanked the world after a donor conference in Geneva
pledged $1.2 billion in aid for Afghanistan, but the country's needs are
immediate.

  Donor nations, however, want conditions attached to their contributions and
are loath to support a regime with as bloody a reputation as the Taliban.

  The hardline Islamists have promised a milder form of rule compared to
their first stint in power, from 1996 to 2001, but have moved swiftly to
crush dissent -- including firing in the air to disperse recent protests by
women calling for the right to work.

  Still, UN chief Antonio Guterres said this week he believed aid could be
used as leverage with the Islamist hardliners to exact improvements on human
rights.

  "It is very important to engage with the Taliban at the present moment," he
said.

  On Wednesday, players from the Afghan national girls' football team arrived
in Pakistan with their coaches and families, fearing a crackdown on sports.

  Meanwhile, Iran became the latest country to resume commercial flights to
Afghanistan, days after Pakistan relaunched a service between Islamabad and
Kabul.

  The United States said on Wednesday another US citizen and two US permanent
residents had left Afghanistan by land the day before.

  At least 36 citizens and 24 permanent residents have left the country with
US government assistance since the military withdrawal at the end of August,
State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

  "That will very much continue," he told reporters.

  - Job satisfaction -

  One month into their second rule, some Afghans are conceding there have
been some improvements in their lives since the Taliban's takeover -- not
least security in the capital, which for years was plagued by deadly suicide
bomb attacks and targeted assassinations blamed largely on the Islamist
group.

  Laalagha, a street vendor, said he was no longer being shaken down by
corrupt police officers -- although he had switched to selling fruit as no
one could afford to buy his previous ware of flowers.

  "I am really satisfied with my new job. In the past the situation was like
this... a policeman would come and puncture the stall's tyre and he would
beat you.

  "Now no one is disturbing or creating problems." But at least half the
population face the possibility of unemployment as the Taliban grapple with
how to deal with women in the workforce.

  "The Taliban have told us to stay home," said one woman who worked in the
telecoms ministry of the old government. "There is security, but if there is
no food soon the situation will change."

  The Taliban named an interim government last week and acting ministers have
been holding press conferences spelling out policies that range from how
women should dress at university to what sports can be played.

  But the Taliban have been light on the details of how the country will be
run and when they will get the civil service functioning again.