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The Taliban has taken more territory in the past couple of months than it has at any time since being ousted from power in 2001 - but how is the group funded? Global efforts to starve the Taliban of funds have failed and in 2019, they were rumoured to have 1.6 billion dollars, with a number of profitable and diverse revenue streams.

Michael Semple, Professor at the Mitchell Institute for Global Peace Security and Justice at Queen's University Belfast and a former deputy EU Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Dawood Azami, an academic focusing on South and Central Asian countries and a senior journalist with 成人论坛 World Service, explain the various ways that the Taliban have accumulated so much money, and how methods such as taxation of areas they control, customs duties and funds from communications companies are sourced in addition to finances from illegal drug smuggling.

"They tax everything and have a pretty effective public finance system." (Michael Semple)

Photo: Afghan Taliban militants and villagers attend a gathering in Laghman Province Credit: NOORULLAH SHIRZADA / AFP via Getty Images