Kabul, Feb 9 (IANS): Police in Afghanistan have arrested more than 34,000 beggars from across the country over the past year to give an end to the culture of begging in society, a deputy on counter-narcotics of the Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

"We have arrested 34,377 beggars over the past year," the National Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA) quoted Mullah Abdul Haq Akhund Hamkar on Sunday as saying.

Major parts of the collected beggars were fake and professional, the official told the state-owned media outlet, saying the police after investigation have allocated a monthly allowance to the needy one and referred the professional beggars to the concerned entities for further investigation, Xinhua news agency reported.

A commission was established to register beggars and categorise them as "professional", "destitute" or "organised", which involves taking their biometric data and fingerprints.

According to Taliban officials, nearly 60,000 beggars have already been "rounded up" in Kabul alone.

The death of detainees rounded up under anti-begging laws is factored into the wording of the Taliban's new law, in which Article 25 states: "If a beggar dies while in custody and has no relatives or if the family refuses to collect the body, the municipal officials will handle the burial."

Under the new laws, those classed as "destitute" are legally entitled to financial assistance after their release, but none of the women said they had received any help.

Officials in Balkh said that they have begun a campaign to round up beggars in Mazar-e-Sharif city and other parts of the northern province.

The officials said that the beggars will be provided with 2,000 Afs per month after the completion of the process.

"If they are really poor and vulnerable, we will provide them with 2,000 Afs per month," said Noor-ul-Huda Abu Idris, the deputy governor of Balkh.

"There could be some fake beggars and there could be real beggars. This will be distinguished in the future because this commission is formed for this purpose," said Faizullah Faizi, head of the commission to round up beggars.

The Afghan caretaker government, according to the official, is committed to fighting the culture of begging as part of efforts to keep the society clean.

More than 23 million Afghans, about half of the population of the war-torn country, have reportedly been facing a food crisis.