KABUL – Ministry of Finance (MoF) spokesman Wahidullah Tawhidi called on donors to be realistic in their pledges and ensure the funds are distributed.

"This issue was not only of last year but a number of donors have not been committed to their funds since the very beginning, an act which has caused some of the projects be left half done," Tawhidi said.

MoF figures show that Pakistan, Brunei, and Portugal have not met last year's written commitment in amounts of $50 million, $40 million, and $10 million respectively.

According to the MoF, other countries and organizations which have not met their funding pledges over the years include the European Union, Germany, India, Australia, Norway, Italy, Iran, France, Turkey, Spain, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Luxemburg, Hungary, Greece, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.

Those that have consistently provided funds as pledged are Japan, England, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Kuwait, Lithuania, Austria, Singapore, Estonia, and the Aga Khan Development Network.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also asked donors to honor their commitments.

"Based on the conclusions of the international conferences on Afghanistan, we call on the donors to be sincere in putting into practice their commitments," said MOFA spokesman Janan Mosazai on Sunday.

Statistics supplied by the MoF show that of the $8 billion committed by donors in Persian year 1391 (March 2011 to March 2012), less than $7 billion was provided. (Tolo News)