Kabul's Failure to Enact Reforms Prompts Donors to Cut Aid – Politician

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – Afghanistan's failure to conduct electoral reforms or to set a date for postponed parliamentary elections is forcing foreign aid donors to cut short their funding projects in the country, a political adviser to the lower house of the Afghan parliament told Sputnik.

Afghanistan is currently facing a political crisis as the parliament's five-year mandate expired in June. Elections have been delayed by security concerns and disagreements over how to ensure a fair and transparent vote after the disputed presidential election last year. The next election date has not yet been announced.

“It is true that foreign donors are hesitant to show their readiness to continue their financial assistance project that was to fund presidential and parliamentary elections in Afghanistan,” political adviser to the deputy speaker of the lower house of the National Assembly of Afghanistan Najeeb Mehrabi told Sputnik.

Mehrabi explained that he has had several meetings with the Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan and the EU envoy to Kabul on this issue and they informed him that foreign donors would continue to cut money to projects that are falling short on their commitments.

The donors have already ended a major aid program, under which about $338 million was pledged to Afghanistan through a three-year UN Development Programme (UNDP), which was set to expire in December 2015. The project was cut short in July.

Afghanistan continues to be in the state of political and social turmoil as both the Taliban and other extremist organizations, such as Islamic State (ISIL), take advantage of instability in the country, which persists despite billions of dollars received in assistance since the US-led invasion in 2001.