The Taliban called for several seats on every U.S.-chartered Qatar Airways flight from Kabul to Qatar's capital Doha for their fighters and supporters in a noticeable endeavor for them to raise funds abroad and send the money back to Afghanistan.
A dispute over whether the Taliban can use the planes, which are used to evacuate the most vulnerable, has seen the Islamist group temporarily halt the flights for the past three weeks, with no indication of when they will resume, reports NBC News.
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Thousands of Afghans have been evacuated by Qatar Airways, the only carrier the Taliban have permitted to fly regularly out of Kabul since the U.S. military withdrew and the Islamist group took power.
While more than 74,000 Afghans have been evacuated to the U.S. and 15,000 evacuated to the U.K., thousands more have been left stranded - and the suspension of the flights leaves them vulnerable.
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A U.S. congressional source told NBC News that before the flights were stopped, the Taliban was using the planes to send Afghan migrant employees to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other locations to seek work, as Afghanistan fell into a humanitarian crisis.
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The Taliban think they should dedicate some of the seats on the humanitarian flights as they rule Afghanistan and the Qataris are using their airport.
p>But when the Qatari government, which has slammed the Taliban for oppressing Afghan refugees at Kabul airport and stopping them from boarding the flights, said it would stop supplying the Taliban seats, the Islamists stopped the flights, sources said.
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Before the suspension of the flights, one or two hired planes a week were heading to Qatar.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told the news outlet: "It is essential that Kabul Airport remain operational to ensure safe passage, commerce, and, above all, urgently needed humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.
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"The Qataris have been unfailing, generous and critical partners in this important work, and we support the quickest possible resolution to any disagreements. We continue to press the Taliban to uphold their safe passage commitments."
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A U.S. State Department Official, congressional source, and two refugee advocates said that the feud was between Qatar and the Taliban.
But a source familiar with the matter told NBC News that in some cases, the Qataris are running flights for the U.S., and Washington is deciding to deny the seats to the Taliban.
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