Taliban dissolve Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, other key bodies

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan woman walks on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former U.S.-backed government, including the country's Human Rights Commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said on Monday.

Afghanistan faces a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million) this financial year, Taliban authorities said on Saturday as they announced their first annual national budget since taking over the war-torn country last August.