Amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the all-men authorities asked the United States Congress to release the central bank assets frozen by the US government, reported TOLO News on Tuesday. According to the local media reports, the Taliban appealed to the Biden administration to release the assets as the country has been facing economic turbulence since it ousted the democratically elected government and took over the charge of the already debt-ridden nation. The local media, in its report, said that the Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi sent a letter to US Congress in which it cited the Doha Agreement, and said the Islamic Emirate and the US are no longer either in direct conflict or in military opposition. Notably, the Doha Agreement, also known as the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, is a peace agreement that was signed by the United States and the Taliban on February 29, 2020, to bring the Afghanistan War to an end.
Taliban cites Doha Agreement to withdraw frozen assets
Notably, the US has freezed the assets as a part of a pressure campaign aimed at getting Afghanistan’s new rulers to respect the rights of women and minorities. “It is quite surprising that with the announcement of the new government, the administration of the United States of America slapped sanctions on the assets of our Central Bank. This goes against our expectations as well as the Doha Agreement,” the news channel citing letter reported. “Currently the fundamental challenge of our people is financial security and the roots of this concern lead back to the freezing of assets of our people by the American government,” Tolo News reported citing the letter. Further, it admitted that the Islamic Emirate has some flaws that need to be rectified on an immediate basis but highlighted freezing Afghanistan’s assets cannot resolve any problem.
“We are of the belief that freezing Afghan assets cannot resolve the problem at hand neither is it the demand of the American people, hence your government must unfreeze our capital,” the letter stated.
“We are concerned that if the current situation prevails, the Afghan government and people will face problems and will become a cause for mass migration in the region and world which will consequently create further humanitarian and economic issues for the world,” read the statement citing the upcoming winter.
Afghan Central Bank caps withdrawal limit
Recently, Afghan Central Bank capped the withdrawal limit equivalent of $400 a week, or $1,200 a month citing the cash crunches in the country. Though the Taliban claimed the decision to ban the foreign currency aimed to stabilize the economy, the residents are not in the mood to convenience with the excuses announced by the extremist group. It also warned that violators to get ready to face the wrath of the legal team. It is worth mentioning that Afghanistan’s economy revolves around foreign trade, foreign aid and remittances…
Read More: Afghanistan writes to US Congress seeking release of foreign exchange