US and Taliban officials have talked about putting billions of dollars from Afghanistan’s central bank reserves that are held abroad into a trust fund. This could be a sign that progress is being made to help Afghanistan’s economy.
Two of the sources say that there are still big problems between the two sides, such as the Taliban’s refusal to replace the bank’s top political appointees, one of whom is under US sanctions along with a number of the movement’s leaders.
Some experts said that this would help restore trust in the institution because it would keep the Islamist militant group, which took power a year ago but is not recognised by other countries, from messing with it. Freeing up cash might not solve all of Afghanistan’s financial problems, but it would help a country that has been hurt by a drop in foreign aid, a long-lasting drought, and an earthquake that killed 1,000 people in June. Millions of Afghans will go through their second winter without enough food.
A Taliban government source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the Taliban do not oppose the idea of a trust fund, but they do oppose a US plan for a third party to control the fund that would hold and give out the returned reserves.
A US source who did not want to be named to talk about the matter said that the US has been in talks with Switzerland and other parties about setting up a mechanism that would include a trust fund and decide how to spend the money with the help of an international board.
The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which is run by the World Bank and was set up to help Kabul get donations of foreign development aid, could be used as a model, said the US source.
Shah Mehrabi, an Afghan-American economics professor who is on the supreme council of the Afghan central bank, said, “No agreement has been reached yet.”
The US State Department and Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs both refused to comment, and the Afghan central bank did not respond to requests for comment.
Since the Taliban took over Kabul last August and US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of fighting the militants, about $9 billion in reserves have been kept outside of Afghanistan. Seven billion of those reserves are in the United States.
Since the Taliban took over Kabul last August and US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of fighting the militants, about $9 billion in reserves have been kept outside of Afghanistan. Seven billion of those reserves are in the United States.
Foreign governments and rights groups have said that the Taliban violated human rights by killing people without a trial during and after the insurgency. Since regaining power, the movement has also limited the rights of women.
Before the group is officially recognized, the rest of the world wants it to do better on women’s rights and other rights.
The Taliban have said they will look into killings that are said to have happened and are working to protect Afghans’ rights to education and free speech within the limits of Islamic law.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
