KABUL – Daesh is no more economic magnet it once was for jobless andimpoverished youths in eastern Afghanistan — the terror group’s mainbastion — after its recent collapse in the Middle East, Afghan officialsand lawmakers said on Tuesday.
The killing of a number of Daesh leaders by Afghan and US forces last yearstruck a sharp blow to the group’s ability to access funds from the MiddleEast.Cash-strapped and under-resourced, Daesh in Afghanistan is now looking forother means to survive financially, officials said.
Daesh has been “struggling for economic survival” in recent monthsfollowing its defeat in Syria and Iraq, an Afghan intelligence officialtold Arab News on condition of anonymity.“It used to attract youths economically, but it’s now facing seriousfunding problems. The group relies on cash collected from smuggling andextortion, both in the form of cash and food, from locals living in areaswhere it’s still active.”
Daesh is now “fighting with the Taliban for control of natural mines andterritory, especially in the Tora Bora region in Nangarhar (province),which is used to smuggle goods to and from Pakistan,” the intelligenceofficial added. “Revenues from smuggling and mines stand at tens ofmillions of dollars annually.”
Hazrat Ali, an anti-Taliban commander and MP from Nangarhar, told Arab Newsthat youths in the province “now hate Daesh. It’s no longer able to recruitpeople easily.”
Daesh’s “barbarity reached its peak here,” he said. “The Taliban is morepopular and has greater influence here.”
For several years, Daesh was able to attract many men in eastern Nangarharand adjacent Kunar province by paying them hundreds of dollars per month,said residents and officials.
“I know some people who joined Daesh in the past for economic reasons, butthat’s no longer the case, despite people facing growing economichardships, because Daesh is economically no longer in the same position itused to be,” Abdul Ghafar, an MP from Nangarhar, told Arab News. “There arevery few who join Daesh nowadays, compared to the past.”
But government officials concede that unemployment is a serious concern inAfghanistan. Joblessness and the poor state of the economy have forcedthousands of youths in recent years to join criminal and militant groupssuch as Daesh and the Taliban.
Unemployment stands at more than 40 percent, according to government data.Unofficial figures put the percentage much higher.
Saleh Mohammed Saleh, an MP from Kunar, told Arab News: “It’s thegovernment’s responsibility to create job opportunities for the people.”
He added: “Unemployment has pushed our people for a long time to joinvarious groups in order to make ends meet.”