The Taliban wants all private companies and aid organisations operating in Afghanistan to register with them, a Taliban spokesperson said, reports Reuters.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesperson, issued the statement last week, and it is being seen as a move by the Taliban to control these organisations, amid the Afghan government’s push for the peace talks.
Afghanistan is heavily reliant on foreign aid and over 2,200 NGOs operate in the country providing education, health and financial support to the communities.

Mujahid said they had noticed that some companies and aid organisations, were pursuing activities that they deemed were against the national interest.
“We will not allow any agency to work against the interest of our beloved Afghanistan, Islam…so we want to register all of them to have information about their activities,” Mujahid said.
Last year, Taliban had briefly banned the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization after accusing them of conducting “suspicious” activities during vaccination campaigns.
The Afghan government said this was a desperate attempt by the Taliban to assert control over government functions.
“Taliban is a terrorist group. They have no right to force companies, NGOs to register themselves with them,” Dawa Khan Menapal, deputy spokesperson for the Presidential Palace, told Reuters.