A U.S. government report warned that the Taliban are increasing their influence over aid organizations working in Afghanistan, including programmes managed by the United Nations.

According to multiple UN officials across different agencies, the Taliban have effectively infiltrated and influenced most UN-managed assistance programmes.

The official said that a quarterly report was made public on Tuesday by the U.S. Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The report said increasing influence over aid programmes is one facet of an intensive strategy to consolidate power.

It added that any form of humanitarian help is vulnerable to manipulation by hardline Islamist rulers.

The Taliban operated under the assumption that the threat of force and raw power could compel any desirable outcome.

The Taliban, which regained power in August 2021, has accused agencies of misusing the aid and demanded that material be distributed in coordination with their government.

Despite early promises of moderate rule, the Taliban has become more authoritarian and dogmatic, with women and girls largely excluded from public life.

The country is in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe.

UN agencies and their partners were mainly providing aid to Afghans suffering from extreme poverty so that they could meet their basic daily needs.

(dpa/NAN)