TOLOnews 10pm News 09 February 2020
Former US vice president and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden's comments on Afghanistan have caused a strong reaction from the Afghan government and others.
Addressing a debate in New Hampshire on Saturday, Biden said he was “totally against the whole notion of nation-building in Afghanistan” and that “the only thing we should be doing is dealing with terrorism in that region.”
A senior official in the customs office in the western province of Herat claimed that almost 30% of customs revenue for imported goods is being lost due to “embezzlement” by "strongmen," among whom are "high-ranking government officials."
The revenue of the Herat customs office, which operates under the Ministry of Finance, collected Afs18 billion (over $234 million) in the 1398 solar year – March 2019 to March 2020 – but its target was Afs32 billion (over $416 million), the deputy head of the customs office of Herat, Jawed Samim, said.