Sediq Sediqqi, former spokesperson for the Afghan presidency, has reacted to a recently signed memorandum of understanding between the Taliban and Mirwais Azizi, the head of Azizi Group. In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Sediqqi wrote:
“Mirwais Azizi doesn’t even have 10 billion Afghanis, let alone 10 billion dollars!”
According to Sediqqi, the deal is merely a publicity stunt and a manipulation of public perception. He wrote:
“The Taliban can be easily deceived. The claim of a $10 billion investment in Herat is more of a joke than a reality.”
His comments come after the Taliban-affiliated state news agency Bakhtar reported the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Taliban’s Ministry of Energy and Water and Mirwais Azizi, CEO of Azizi Energy, allegedly worth $10 billion. Under the agreement, the company is expected to produce 10,000 megawatts of electricity and implement power projects across multiple Afghan provinces by the year 2032.
The Taliban claim the project will create thousands of jobs and move Afghanistan toward energy self-sufficiency.
However, economic experts and observers have raised serious doubts. They argue that Afghanistan currently lacks the infrastructure required to implement such a massive project and that the lack of transparency in Taliban-era contracts makes it difficult to assess whether these investment claims are legitimate.
Afghanistan remains heavily dependent on electricity imports from neighboring countries such as Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. In recent years, no major national energy projects have been completed or made operational.
