Washington, (UNI): US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Friday releasing $7bn in frozen Afghan reserves to be split between humanitarian efforts for the Afghan people and American victims of terrorism, including relatives of 9/11, reports The Guardian.
The elected Afghan government was dissolved in August last year after the Taliban seized control, leaving behind just over $7bn in central bank assets deposited in the US Federal Reserve bank in New York. As Afghanistan’s top elected officials, including the president and central bank governor, fled the country, the Fed froze the account as it was unclear who was legally authorised to access the funds.
The Taliban took over the central bank – known as Da Afghanistan Bank – and immediately claimed a right to the money, but under longstanding counter-terrorism sanctions it is illegal to engage in financial transactions with the organisation, reports The Guardian.
Furthermore, the US does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The money – which includes currency, bonds and gold – mostly comes from foreign exchange funds that accumulated over the past two decades when western aid flowed into Afghanistan.
But it also includes the savings of ordinary Afghans, who are now facing growing violence and hunger with the economy and rule of law in freefall, reports The Guardian.
