Source: Uk Daily Mail website
According to the Website of the Daily Mail, Afghan Taliban officials will demand billions of dollars in damages from British and other Western governments for the invasion of Afghanistan and the 20-year war that lasted.
The Afghan interim government will urge britain to pay "immediately" and believes that the British side will agree to the claims made.
Some British veterans who fought in Afghanistan slammed any potential claims for reparations, accusing the Taliban of "executing dissidents, torturing prisoners and forcing women into hiding since the seizure of power." ”
Noor Mohommad Mutawakel, an official at the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Afghan Interim Government, told The Mirror: "We welcome the fact that Britain is prepared to pay us war reparations. Other countries involved in war must also be prepared to pay the price. ”
While the Taliban official appears confident that Britain will pay reparations, British government sources are skeptical about whether this will happen, telling the Mirror: "We don't yet know what they will ask for, but it may require billions of dollars from countries, but whether we will pay is another matter." ”
British media said that since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, the country's economy has nearly collapsed. Although there has also been a very small amount of humanitarian assistance, much of international assistance to Afghanistan has been cut off. Billions of dollars of Afghan central bank overseas assets have also been frozen, putting pressure on the banking system.
The Daily Mail said its claims "would be controversial" given that the Taliban "killed British and Allied soldiers".
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British infantry battalion in Afghanistan, claimed: "It is an insult that the terrorist group that took over Afghanistan is demanding compensation from the state that fights in the country to support the legitimate government. The British government shouldn't even consider paying a penny to these bloodthirsty killers. ”
In August, the Stop the War Coalition, a campaign group chaired by jeremy Corbyn, a former leader of Britain's Labour Party, urged the British government to pay reparations to Afghanistan to "promote the rights of the Afghan people", calling on Britain to "take the lead in providing asylum schemes and compensation". The group noted that the current disaster in Afghanistan is the responsibility of the United States, Britain and other NATO governments, who are "caught in a war that is doomed to failure."
The Uk's Defence Ministry declined to comment on the topic of reparations at the national level, but confirmed that compensation would be given to Afghan civilian casualties.