Taliban Government Resumes Pension Payments for Civil Servants

Taliban Government Resumes Pension Payments for Civil Servants
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The Taliban government in Afghanistan has ended a four-year suspension of pension payments for nearly 150,000 retired military and civil servants, Arab News reported. This move follows years of public protests from retirees demanding payments that were halted after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The announcement was made by pension fund director Mohammad Rahmani and government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, with a gradual rollout of payments already underway.

The resumption of pensions is a crucial lifeline for a population facing widespread poverty and high unemployment. The nearly 150,000 families supported by these pensions represent almost one million people, according to a 2024 report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN).

Despite the announcement, the long-term sustainability of the pension system remains uncertain. The AAN report notes that the pension system was in crisis even before the Taliban takeover. The subsequent loss of foreign aid, which had previously funded the public sector, has strained the government’s opaque revenue streams, with observers suggesting that security spending has consumed a large portion of the budget. The Taliban has already announced an end to the public pension scheme, making these retirees the last to receive payments.