Six months on, Khalid Payenda, once Ghani’s finance minister, is driving an Uber in Washington DC.the Washington PostThe 40-year-old once oversaw a US-supported $6bn budget. The Post reported that in one night earlier this week, he made “a little over $150 for six hours’ work, not counting his commute – a mediocre night”.
Afghanistan faces a humanitarian and economic crisis, assets frozen and cut off from international aid that would require recognition of the Taliban government which replaced the US-supported regime. Payenda told the Post he believed Afghans “didn’t have the collective will to reform, to be serious”. But he also said the US betrayed its commitment to democracy and human rights after making Afghanistan a centerpiece of post-9/11 policy.The response to Ukraine is laudable. But as a British Afghan, I’m a little jealous | Nelufar Hedayat