In a surprising development, Taliban on Sunday (August 15) captured Afghanistan's capital Kabul and announced that the war was over in Afghanistan. Taliban has appealed for peaceful relations with the international community.
Talking to Al Jazeera TV, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and the group respected women's and minorities' rights within Sharia law.
"We ask all countries and entities to sit with us to settle any issues", he said in an interview with Al Jazeera TV.
How much is the Taliban worth, and what is the source of income for the group?
In 2016, Taliban was listed by Forbes as the fifth richest of the 10 'Terrorist' organisations. ISIS was on top of the table with a turnover then of USD 2 billion and Taliban occupied the fifth spot with annual turnover of USD 400 million.
According to Forbes, Taliban's primary sources of revenue were drug trafficking, protection money and donations.
A NATO report accessed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty showed that the annual budget of the Taliban in 2019-20 had been USD 1.6 Billion.
RFE/RF gave a breakdown of how the Taliban earned their money:
Mining: $464 million
Drugs: $416 million
Foreign Donations: $240 million
Export: $240 million
Taxes: $160 million (Protection/Extortion money?)
Real Estate: $80 million
It was mentioned in the NATO report that the Taliban leadership was focused on becoming self-sufficient in order to become an independent political and military entity.
