Taliban militants, the rebel stronghold in Afghanistan, have claimed that they have received $ 6.5 million (about 48 crore) from the house of Amarullah Saleh. Saleh, first vice-president within the Ashraf Ghani administration, has declared himself the caretaker president of Afghanistan in Ghani’s absence. The Taliban have said they have also found gold bricks from Saleh’s house. The Taliban also said that it was only a small part of the total money they received.
Ahmadullah Muttaqi, chief of the Taliban’s multimedia department, took to Twitter to publish a video of an alleged raid on Amrullah Saleh’s residence. The video reveals Taliban fighters sitting round two suitcases full of money and gold bricks. Some of the fighters will also be seen clicking photos of the piles of money within the 1-minute 26-second video. He had also released the picture while sitting in the library. Muttaqi claimed that a total of six and a half million US dollars, along with 18 gold bricks, were recovered from Amrullah Saleh’s residence. Earlier the Taliban had reached Amarullah Saleh’s house and captured it and the Taliban reportedly tortured and executed Amrullah Saleh’s brother Rohullah Saleh during clashes in Panjshir valley. A former head of the National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, had fled to the Panjshir valley at the time of the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15 of this year. He then teamed up with Ahmad Massoud of the National Resistance Front (NRF) to challenge the Taliban regime in Kabul.
Amarullah Saleh and Ahmed Masood have moved to a safer place since the Taliban took over Panjshir. The current whereabouts of Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is unknown. The Taliban also killed Amrullah Saleh’s brother Rohullah Azizi in the Battle of Panjshir. Saleh had last said in a tweet on September 3, “The RESISTANCE is continuing and will continue. I am here with my soil, for my soil & defending its dignity”.
