KABUL: Afghanistan’s budget deficit for this fiscal year is 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million), according to Taliban officials, who did not elaborate on how the difference between expected receipts and planned spending can be bridged.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi announced the first annual national budget since the Taliban took control of the war-torn country in August last year, predicting spending of 231.4 billion Afghanis and revenue of 186.7 billion.

“The income come from customs, ministries, and mines agencies,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman for the Finance Ministry.

Since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, successive Western-backed regimes have relied heavily on handouts. Foreign soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, resulting in the country’s collapse.

The Taliban government has yet to be recognised by the international community. While aid agencies figure out how to support 50 million Afghans without giving the Taliban direct access to funds, the country faces rising security concerns and economic collapse.

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Hanafi claimed that the budget for the current fiscal year, which runs from February to February, had been authorised by the council of ministers and endorsed by the Taliban’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada, and that it would be funded entirely with local monies.

He stated development projects would cost 27.9 billion Afghanis, but he didn’t give a breakdown of spending on areas like defence.

“We’ve focused on education, technical education, and higher education, and our entire focus is on how to make education accessible to all,” Hanafi added.

After promising to recommence older girls’ schooling across the country early this year, Taliban officials have yet to do so.