Kabul: The Taliban on Friday urged Washington to heed the UN chief’s call to unlock afghan fund freeze In the United States, as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
US officials amassed billions of dollars in Afghan assets after radical Islamists seized power following the withdrawal of foreign forces in August.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Washington to take the lead and stop the “nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan” by releasing the capital.
“The United States must respond positively to the international voice and release the Afghan capital,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.
Washington has taken control of about $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding $340 million in aid as well as new reserves issued by the IMF in August.
Many Western countries have also largely suspended their aid to Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
Aid agencies and the United Nations have estimated that more than half of the country’s 38 million population could starve this winter.
“We must quickly infuse liquidity into the economy and avoid a recession that puts millions of people in poverty, hunger and poverty,” Guterres told reporters in New York.
His remarks came two days after the United Nations said it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022.
US officials amassed billions of dollars in Afghan assets after radical Islamists seized power following the withdrawal of foreign forces in August.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Washington to take the lead and stop the “nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan” by releasing the capital.
“The United States must respond positively to the international voice and release the Afghan capital,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.
Washington has taken control of about $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding $340 million in aid as well as new reserves issued by the IMF in August.
Many Western countries have also largely suspended their aid to Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
Aid agencies and the United Nations have estimated that more than half of the country’s 38 million population could starve this winter.
“We must quickly infuse liquidity into the economy and avoid a recession that puts millions of people in poverty, hunger and poverty,” Guterres told reporters in New York.
His remarks came two days after the United Nations said it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022.
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