The Khaama Press News Agency reported on November 9 that the Taliban Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has announced that based on an agreement, it plans to send 65,000 people to work outside Afghanistan.

According to Taliban Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Makhdoom Abdul Salam Sadat, 15,000 of them will be sent as shepherds to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Citing the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency, Khaama Press says Sadat stated that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey had made requests for labor.

According to the deputy minister, arrangements to send Afghan laborers abroad were made under the previous administration, but their implementation was stalled owing to a number of factors.

In addition to that, many residents of Kabul, the Afghan capital, complained about joblessness and asked the Taliban government to facilitate job opportunities.

According to estimates provided by the United Nations Development Agency, 700,000 jobs have been lost in Afghanistan in the past year, raising concerns about the country’s rising unemployment since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

This reportedly comes as thousands of Afghan people are in quest of employment in Iran and Pakistan, two neighboring countries.  Most of these job seekers travel undetected by smuggling themselves to their destination.