Mullah Muhammad Yaqub, the acting Taliban defence minister in the interim Afghanistan administration, said on Saturday that he has taken direct charge of security for the multi-billion dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India) gas pipeline project. “I am directly responsible for and overseeing the security of the TAPI project. The visiting Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan also met with Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, acting prime minister of the Taliban’s interim administration at his office. Alongside TAPI, another project named the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan 500 kilovolts Line (TAP-500) will transfer Turkmenistan’s electricity to Pakistan through Afghanistan. This project would also generate $110 million annually as transit-free for the country.

Source: The Express Tribune October 31, 2021 21:30 UTC