Gulf oil fuelling Taliban wars, money comes in suitcases: Holbrooke

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: Richard Holbrooke, the top US diplomat for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told CNN on Tuesday the deadly Taliban insurgency in both countries relies heavily on funding from the Persian Gulf. Such donations, he told CNN, outpaced even the multibillion-dollar exports of opium and heroin from Afghanistan. “It seems to be ... individuals carrying money in their suitcases,” he said. “Sometimes they are taking advantage of the pilgrimage. Sometimes from hawala. Sometimes from charities.” One of the top priorities of the Obama administration in the region had been to help Afghanistan hold [the August 20] presidential elections, he added. daily times monitor

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