With international aid to Afghanistan largely cut off, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has released a report painting a dire picture of the country’s economic prospects since the Taliban took over. SIGAR’s Oct. 30 quarterly report—the first since the collapse of the U.S.-supported government in Afghanistan—provides a broad overview of Afghanistan’s economic situation, as well as the agency’s activity over the past three months. The outlook isn’t good. Afghanistan’s economy had been projected to grow by about 0.4 percent at the start of the year, but economists now predict a roughly 9.7-percent contraction, the report stated. Citing sources from the United Nations, the report warned that poverty in Afghanistan could increase by 7 to 25 percent between 2020 and mid-2022. “The UN’s analysis further warns that Afghanistan could face the prospect of ‘near universal poverty” with around 97 percent of the population living below the poverty line,” …