new delhi former afghanistan finance minister khalid payenda who once presented a 6 billion budget in kabul is now driving an uber in washington dc to support his family according to a report by the washington postpayenda fled afghanistan right before the taliban took over the country last year the father of four who has joined the gig economy said the work had made a huge difference in his life i feel incredibly grateful for it it means i dont have to be desperate payenda also coteaches a course at georgetown university and occasionally speaks at thinktanks payenda told the washington post that he holds the americans responsible for the taliban takeover of afghanistan after two decades of conflict the united states withdrew from afghanistan in august 2021months before the taliban seized control of afghanistan former president donald trumps government signed a conditional peace deal with the militant group in february 2020 vowing to pull out the us troops over 14 months the agreement notably did not include the aghan government senior us officials have mostly moved on from the afghanistan war which started 20 years earlier with highminded promises of democracy human rights and womens rights and concluded with an american president accusing afghans such as a payenda for the mess that was left behindas payendas relationship with ghani deteriorated he resigned as the finance minister a week before the taliban captured kabul fearing that the president might detain him he fled to the united states reuniting with his familyin a text message to a world bank official in kabul on the day the capital fell payenda stated as quoted by the washington post that they had 20 years and the whole worlds support to build a system that would work for the people payenda said that all they created was a house of cards that came falling so quickly the foundation of a house of cards is corruption he addedwith inputs from agencies