New Delhi: Khalid Payenda served as Afghanistan's finance minister until last summer, handling a $6 billion budget — the lifeblood of a government struggling for survival in a conflict that had long been a focal point of US foreign policy.
He was driving north on Interstate 95 from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, toward Washington, D.C., seven months after Kabul had fallen to the Taliban. Payenda swiped at his phone and accessed the Uber app, which gave his "task" for the weekend, Washington Post reported.
In an interview with The Washington Post, he stated that he earned "a little over $150 for six hours of labour, not including my commute."
Afghanistan is in the midst of a financial and humanitarian catastrophe, with many nations across the globe hesitating to recognise the Taliban administration, which deposed the US-backed state. Due to strained ties with Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani, Payenda resigned as the country's Finance Minister a week before the Taliban took control of the capital city.
Earlier on August 10, 2021, Payenda on his Twitter handle wrote, "Today I stepped down as the Acting Minister of Finance. Leading MoF was the greatest honour of my life but it was time to step down to attend to personal priorities. I’ve put Mr Alem Shah Ibrahimi, Deputy Minister for Revenue & Customs in charge until a new Minister is appointed."
Seven months later, his last position of finance minister was taken over by a childhood buddy of Taliban founder Mohammad Omar, who had made a name for himself during the war by raising funds for suicide bombers in Kandahar.
Moving was "quite an adjustment," he said in an interview with The Washington Post, adding that he was pleased to be able to help his family in any way he could.
He also said that the United States of America is responsible for Afghanistan's current predicament, claiming that troop withdrawals allowed the Taliban to seize control.