In the face of a financial crisis, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have abolished five major ministries of the former US-backed government, including the Human Rights Commission, an official said on Monday.

This fiscal year, Afghanistan faces a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis (US$506 million), according to Taliban officials, who published their first annual national budget since taking over the war-torn country in August last year.

“Because these departments were not deemed necessary and were not included in the budget, they have been dissolved,” Taliban government deputy spokesman Innamullah Samangani said.

The High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), the National Security Council, and the commission in charge of overseeing the implementation of the Afghan constitution were also disbanded.

The HCNR was last led by former Afghan President Abdullah Abdullah, who was attempting to broker a peace deal between the US-backed government of then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban insurgency.

Foreign soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan in August of last year, 20 years after invading the country, resulting in the fall of the government and a Taliban takeover.

According to Samangani, the national budget is “based on objective facts” and is only intended for departments that have been active and productive.

From 1996 until 2001, Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban, who imposed a strict form of Islamic law. The Taliban promised to be more moderate after taking power last year.

They have yet to allow older females to return to school, and have imposed laws requiring women and girls to wear veils and have male relatives accompany them in public places.

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