Starving dad ‘forced to sell daughter in Afghanistan to support rest of family’ – World News

The man, identified as Mir Nazir, 38, said he would “prefer to die” than flog his child – but claimed he has been left with little choice since the Taliban takeover

A starving dad has been forced to sell his daughter to support the rest of him family as Afghanistan’s economy continues to dwindle, reports say.

The man, identified as Mir Nazir, 38, said he would “prefer to die” than flog his child – but claimed he has been left with little choice since the Taliban takeover.

The hardline group is facing an uncertain economic future following the crippling effects of the pandemic and an inevitable drop in international support for their newly-claimed state.

This has left Afghan citizens scrambling to survive, with poverty and starvation a constant worry for many.

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According to the Times, Mr Nazir lost his job with the police in the city of Ghazni and fled to the capital, Kabul, with his wife and five children days before the Taliban arrived.

He has since found more work, but his rent is now more than his wages.

This has reduced him to having to sell his own daughter – for around £240.

Mr Nazir told the paper: “I received an offer from a shop owner, a man I knew who had no children.

“He offered 20,000 afghanis for my daughter Safia to live with him and start working in his shop. But I can’t sell my daughter for that low a price, so I asked for 50,000.

“We are still discussing. This isn’t about choice. It’s about desperation.”

Impoverished Afghanistan’s economy has been thrown into disarray by the takeover by the Taliban.

Many banks are closed and cash is in short supply.

The United Nations has said it will convene an international aid conference in Geneva on September 13 to help avert what U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a “looming humanitarian catastrophe”.

Without the aid that has sustained the country for years, the Taliban will find it hard to avert economic collapse, according to analysts.

Western powers say they are prepared to engage with the Taliban and send humanitarian aid, but that formal recognition of the government and broader economic assistance will depend on action – not just promises – to safeguard human rights.

And, as the economy continues to tank, it is feared that Afghanistan could turn into a ‘narco state’.

Over recent years, the Taliban’s resurgence has stemmed from a blossoming drugs trade, supplemented with funds from extortion, kidnappings and alleged funding from international partners.

The group’s annual income is believed to have rocketed to as much as £1.1billion a year as they look to take control once again of a nation they ruled from 1996 to 2001.

And despite efforts from the US to crack down on the country’s illicit drugs trade, its narcotics industry is now believed to be worth up to 60 per cent of the Taliban’s turnover.

Experts fear production will only boom as the Taliban’s grip strengthen, and as the militants seeks to boost their income.

It was also revealed on Thursday that the Taliban will allow 200 US and other civilians to leave Afghanistan on chartered flights today, a US official has said.

The confirmation comes nine days after the final deadline for the US evacuation of the country lapsed.

Some 1,000 people are said to be stuck at an airport in Afghanistan amid claims the Taliban was keeping them “hostage until their demands “are met”.

An unmade source blamed the US State Department over its failure to tell the Taliban of its approval for flight departures from the airport or validate a landing site.

Now, the Taliban have allowed some of the evacuations after being pressed by US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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