Ex-Finance Minister of Afghanistan now drives a cab in US. Why?

Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan’s former finance minister used to come to the US capital Washington twice a year for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank meetings as the finance minister of Afghanistan.

But today, he stands at the door not as a finance minister but as a cab driver who lives with his family in Washington and makes a living with his driving, reported the BBC.

Khalid, moved to US with his family after he had resigned from the finance ministry. He was lashed out by the then Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani for some payment issue and after that resigned from his post.

Things changed drastically in Afghanistan soon after that. Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 31, 2021 after American forces left the country. 

WHY DRIVE TAXI?

It was only after he had exhausted all his savings that he decided to drive a taxi. 'After a month, you need to make a living. I did some driving,' Khalid told BBC. He said that he makes living out of driving and makes more than what people generally expect from this profession.

WHO ELSE?   

Not just Khalid, Afghanistan’s former communications minister, Syed Sadat, now delivers pizza on his bicycle in Leipzig, Germany. 

WHAT KHALID SAYS ON HIS PAST?

'When I left, provinces were still being taken by Taliban, but my guess was the capital would remain and the fighting for it would go for few years,' Khalid said to BBC.

He also blames US for the current turmoil in Afghanistan, as 'the country betrayed its commitment to democracy and the human rights after making Afghanistan a centre-piece of post 9-11 policy.'

“It’s tragic. 35-40 million of people taken over by a fanatic group that does not believe in basic human rights. It's also reversing 20 years of progress we had made in Afghanistan,' Khalid said.

Khalid also acknowledged that even though they went through a very tough time, but today all that has made him a humble person. 'Life goes on. You could either stay in the past, lament it or more move forward and try to rebuild it”, Khalid said.