Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the Taliban takeover. Here, a Staff Correspondent for JURIST in Kabul comments on the lack of any real Taliban economic policy and the grim consequences this will have for hunger and poverty in the country in the absence of international assistance. For privacy and security reasons, we are withholding our Correspondent’s name. The text has been only lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

Yesterday, the Craftsmen’s Union raised the price of a 200-gram loaf of bread by 50% to 15 afghanis. In the last four months, the price of flour has nearly tripled. Liquefied gas, which used to cost 40 afghanis per kilogram, now costs 110 afghanis. Oil and other food prices are also skyrocketing. For the poor, everything has become unaffordable.

There is no food item that has maintained its previous price. People lose the ability to purchase even the most basic necessities when revenue channels are closed. Since the fall of the previous government on August 15, the Afghan currency’s value against foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar, has fallen. This pattern has been ongoing, but it has accelerated in the last two days. People were terrified as a result of this situation, which has led to the closure of currency exchange markets in the capital and several other major cities.

Grocery stores in various parts of Kabul were closed yesterday evening due to this. With the current situation and the rapid rise in prices, the shopkeepers believe that if they sell their goods, they will be unable to purchase new goods. Over the last four months, the Taliban-led government has failed to project a positive image of crisis management. Neither the Taliban’s diplomatic apparatus nor their policymakers have been successful in gaining international recognition and legitimacy for their government.

We might now have fewer empty stomachs if the Taliban had made more serious efforts during this time to meet the standards of international donors. Unfortunately, efforts in this area have not been sufficient to halt the deterioration of the situation and, at least in the short term. People’s trust in the Taliban is dwindling especially in terms of combatting poverty and hunger. The Prime Minister of the Taliban-led government has said in a statement that they did not promise food for the people.

It does not seem that the Taliban can make concrete steps to meet the international community’s standards and follow their terms and condition and be able to gain more funds to fight hunger and poverty. But in order to avoid the current situation, the Taliban have instructed its Economic Commission take actions itself to prevent the decline in value of the Afghani and stabilize the prices. This Commission, according to my opinion, should have predicted the current situation and planned for this day. However, unfortunately, not only the Commission but the whole Taliban government is not ready for such a situation and more importantly they have no practical plan for the same. The meeting also charged the Taliban Economic Commission, chaired by the group’s deputy prime minister, Abdul Salam Hanafi, with taking serious measures to prevent “dollar smuggling, the issuance of counterfeit Afghan money, and the elimination of other factors that adversely affect the value of the Afghan currency.”

Officials in their government have repeatedly spoken about the plan, but nothing has changed in practice. This means that there is no plan. The Taliban bear direct responsibility for the current situation.

With the fall of the previous government, hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs in the country, and now that we are dealing with uncontrollable inflation, unemployment, and cold winters, it is nothing but disaster.

The Taliban government has a legal, moral, and ethical obligation to keep the situation under control. There is no time to waste; whatever action they intend to take must be carried out as soon as possible. People’s lives have been overshadowed by hunger and destiny. This dreadful shadow does not vanish on its own and this is no laughing matter. They must adhere to international standards, interact with the rest of the world, and combat hunger in a practical manner. They are unable to do so alone, but the international community can control it like they did the previous government.

As the Afghan currency depreciates against foreign currencies and commodity prices rise sharply, the central bank of the Taliban-led government says it is attempting to prevent currency fluctuations that could harm the “purchasing power of the people.” The central bank issued a newsletter today stating that it uses various methods to stabilize the value of the Afghan currency against other currencies.

In my opinion, directing the Economic Commission and attempting to prevent fluctuations by the central bank are insufficient to address the current hunger. Instead, real and practical government plans are required to combat poverty and hunger. They are unable to do so due to a lack of funds. As a result, they should begin direct negotiations with the international community right away in order to receive funds and other types of assistance.