Johannesburg | Sunday
SOUTH African police are probing the use of money sent to Afghanistan by aid agencies, amid speculation that it may be ending up in the hands of fighters.
Some R20-million ($two-million) have flowed to Afghanistan from South Africa, where it was collected by several relief agencies, police told the Sunday Independent newspaper.
Police are investigating whether the money is being used to fund the Taliban Islamic militia, the Northern Alliance or humanitarian operations, divisional commissioner of crime intelligence Raymond Lalla said.
The United States is leading a military effort to back Northern Alliance forces in thier fight to oust the Taliban regime, accused of harbouring Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in September’s terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
“We have become aware of dissent within humanitarian aid groups over the utilisation of funds,” Lalla said.
“There was talk that money was going to the Northern Alliance, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. We have found no evidence so far. We will continue to examine these transactions,” he said.
The money destined for relief work can be traced to organisations mostly operating in Pakistan. In most cases, Lalla said, police had verified the organisations’ credentials but could not determine where the money trail ended.
Lalla said police were following it to see whether relief funds were being used for other purposes and whether some of the money was being laundered overseas.
Five South African businessmen were willing to sponsor the Taliban since they are “striving for Islamic ideals”, but are legally prevented from doing so by the Foreign Military Assistance Act, the newspaper reported.
South Africa’s ambassador in Islamabad, Moosa Moolla, said relations with Afghanistan were non-existent.
A high-ranking Taliban official, Abu Humaira Al-Jabbar, reportedly said the militia appreciated the humanitarian aid received and that interest by South Africans in assisting the Taliban was overwhelming.
One donor to the International Red Crescent and the Al-Aqtar Trust, Farhad Khanna of the Pretoria-based Institute for Islamic Studies, said his organisation would continue to distribute funds.