Taliban decry US claims about frozen Afghan assets

Taliban officials denounced Saturday claims that the United States could regain custody of Afghanistan's frozen cardinal slope funds, informing that immoderate specified enactment would beryllium "unacceptable."

The Taliban-led Ministry of Economy issued the informing successful effect to the latest quarterly study released to the U.S. Congress connected Friday stating that the authorities successful Kabul is not recognized by Washington and has been subjected to economical sanctions.

In August 2021, erstwhile Taliban insurgents retook power of the state conscionable days earlier the withdrawal of each American and NATO troops, then-President Joe Biden froze astir $7 cardinal successful assets that were held successful the U.S. by the Afghan cardinal bank. Additionally, European countries froze astir $2 billion.

Washington subsequently transferred fractional of the frozen funds, amounting to $3.5 billion, to a recently established "Afghan Fund" successful Switzerland. That money is intended to enactment humanitarian assistance successful impoverished Afghanistan portion ensuring that the Taliban cannot entree the money, but nary payments person since been released.

The remaining $3.5 cardinal was retained successful the U.S. to money imaginable compensation for ongoing tribunal cases against the Taliban, brought by families of the September 11, 2001, onslaught victims.

"With accrued interest, the money has present grown to astir $4 billion," said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) successful its study to Congress connected Friday. "As portion of the existent reappraisal of overseas assistance, the medication and the Congress whitethorn privation to analyse returning these funds to the custody and power of the U.S. government," it added.

"The Taliban privation these funds adjacent though they person nary ineligible close to them since they are not recognized by the United States arsenic the authorities of Afghanistan, are connected the U.S. Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, and are nether U.S. and U.N. sanctions," the SIGAR stressed.

The bureau referred to President Donald Trump's bid issued aft his inauguration past month, which suspended astir each overseas assistance for 3 months pending a reappraisal to find what aligns with his "America First" policy.

The de facto Afghan ministry dismissed the objections, saying freezing cardinal slope assets has undermined their nationalist economy. It renewed Kabul's telephone for the planetary assemblage to instrumentality the much than $9 cardinal to the cardinal bank, saying it belongs to the Afghan federation and tin play a captious relation successful ensuring monetary and economical stability.

"Any enactment by the United States regarding the allocation, use, oregon transportation of these reserves is unacceptable," the Taliban connection warned.

The SIGAR study argued that Washington has spent much than $3.7 cardinal successful Afghanistan since withdrawing its troops from the country, saying astir of that wealth went to U.N. and spouse agencies delivering humanitarian assistance successful Afghanistan. It noted that different $1.2 cardinal remains disposable successful the pipeline for imaginable disbursement.

However, the Taliban disputed the assertions and claimed that U.S. spending had nary important interaction connected the Afghan economy.

SIGAR said that the United States remains the largest donor to Afghanistan, wherever millions of radical request humanitarian aid, according to U.N. assessments.

"While this assistance whitethorn person staved disconnected famine successful the look of economical collapse, it has not dissuaded the Taliban from taking U.S. citizens hostage, dismantling the rights of women and girls, censoring the media, allowing the state to go a violent harmless haven, and targeting erstwhile Afghan authorities officials," the U.S. bureau wrote successful the report.

Since retaking powerfulness three-and-a-half years ago, the hard-line Taliban person banned girls from attending schoolhouse beyond the sixth people and suspended pistillate assemblage acquisition crossed Afghanistan. Women are prohibited from visiting nationalist places, specified arsenic gyms and parks. They indispensable deterioration look coverings successful nationalist and person a chaperone for roadworthy oregon aerial travel.

The Taliban support their policies, saying they are aligned with Islamic law, oregon Sharia, and Afghan culture, dismissing planetary disapproval arsenic an interference successful the country's interior affairs.

The sweeping restrictions connected Afghan women and different quality rights concerns, arsenic good arsenic the Taliban's alleged ties with violent groups, person deterred the planetary assemblage from granting legitimacy to the de facto Afghan government.