Taliban: Washington must listen to UN and release Afghan funds
Taliban members watch a football match at the stadium in Kandahar. - AFP PIC
KABUL: The Taliban on Friday urged Washington to heed a call by the United Nations chief to unlock Afghan funds frozen in the United States, as a humanitarian crisis deepens.
US authorities froze billions of dollars in Afghan assets after the hardline Islamists seized power in August following the withdrawal of foreign forces.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Washington to take the lead and prevent "the nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan" by releasing capital.
"The United States must respond positively to the international voice and release Afghan capital," the Taliban government's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter. Washington has taken control of nearly US$9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding aid as well as US$340 million in new reserves issued by the IMF in August.
Many Western nations have also largely suspended their assistance to Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries.
Aid agencies and the UN have estimated that more than half of the nation's 38 million population is expected to face hunger this winter.
"We must... rapidly inject liquidity into the economy and avoid a meltdown that would lead to poverty, hunger and destitution for millions," Guterres told reporters in New York.
His comments came two days after the UN said it needs US$5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022. – AFP
KABUL: The Taliban on Friday urged Washington to heed a call by the United Nations chief to unlock Afghan funds frozen in the United States, as a humanitarian crisis deepens.
US authorities froze billions of dollars in Afghan assets after the hardline Islamists seized power in August following the withdrawal of foreign forces.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Washington to take the lead and prevent "the nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan" by releasing capital.
"The United States must respond positively to the international voice and release Afghan capital," the Taliban government's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter. Washington has taken control of nearly US$9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding aid as well as US$340 million in new reserves issued by the IMF in August.
Many Western nations have also largely suspended their assistance to Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries.
Aid agencies and the UN have estimated that more than half of the nation's 38 million population is expected to face hunger this winter.
"We must... rapidly inject liquidity into the economy and avoid a meltdown that would lead to poverty, hunger and destitution for millions," Guterres told reporters in New York.
His comments came two days after the UN said it needs US$5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022. – AFP
The funds of the Central Bank of Afghanistan do not belong to the Taliban, who shot themselves into Kabul at the muzzle of AK47s and RPG-7s.
ReplyDeleteThey were held in trust in the US Federal Reserve on behalf of the legitimate elected government of Afghanistan.
The funds are still there, the Yanks have not seized it, just that Talibums have no automatic right to access it.
The fund BELONGS to the people of Afghanistan!
DeleteWho the fart is the Yankee holding that fund in trust in the US Federal Reserve?
Did the Afghans elect the Yank to hold that money on behalf of the legitimate elected government of Afghanistan?
How do u define legitimacy of a govt?
Ooop… only those elected with the chosen consent of the Yank!
Forget about whether the legitimate elected government or the "evil" autocratic or tyrannical government of Afghanistan. Government come and government go. However, many of the government departments, the hospitals the schools etc still have to function. Who are the Yanks to decide why the money shouldn't flow back to the country?
Delete