A woman beggar with her child waits to receive alms at a bird market in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 22, 2022. (EBRAHIM NOROOZI / AP)
KABUL – The Supreme Leader of the Taliban-run caretaker government has ordered to ban beggars here from seeking alms on the street, but to offer them jobs or education, Afghanistan's state-run Bakhtar news agency reported on Monday.
The elusive Hibatullah Akhundzada in his order instructed concerned entities in the administration to round up all the beggars on Kabul city streets and find an amicable solution to the problem.
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"All the beggars will pass biometric process and the caretakers of fake beggars would be held responsible if he or she returns to begging again," Bakhtar quoted the order as saying.
The leader also said that the government would provide job opportunities for the adult beggars who are skilled in any field and send the children beggars to schools.
The order said that the government would provide monthly allowances to real beggars who are too weak to work.
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According to the World Food Programme (WFP), nearly 20 million Afghans out of a population of more than 35 million are facing acute food shortage.