The watchdog for US assistance to Afghanistan said the Taliban have no legal right to billions of dollars in funding set aside for the country because they are not recognised as its government and are under sanctions. John Sopko, the spokesperson of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress may want to examine returning nearly $4 billion earmarked for Afghanistan to the “custody and control” of the US government.

John Sopko. FILE PIC/GETTY IMAGES