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SIGAR report says no specific controls in place to ensure Afghan Fund is not misused

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In response to a request by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee for information on the oversight and management of the Afghan Fund, which holds $3.5 billion of Afghanistan’s frozen funds, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said there are currently no specific controls in place to ensure funds are not diverted to or misused by the Islamic Emirate.

SIGAR chief John F. Sopko stated that as of September last year, the Fund had made no disbursements for activities intended to benefit the Afghan people. The US “Treasury and State are not currently willing to support a return of funds to DAB (Afghanistan’s central bank),” Sopko’s report read.

SIGAR also stated “the Taliban (IEA) are not part of the Afghan Fund, and robust safeguards have been put in place to prevent [Fund monies] from being used for illicit activity.”

However, the report stated that “the fund’s articles of association do not explicitly refer to the Taliban, and there are currently no specific controls in place to ensure funds are not diverted to or misused by the Taliban.”

SIGAR also stated that the US Treasury has reported that “a compliance program to prevent funds from being provided to sanctioned or criminal individuals, including members of the Taliban, was under development.”

The report also stated that neither the US Treasury nor State Department was currently “willing to support a return of funds to DAB.”

The report however pointed out that one of the Fund’s trustees is also a member of DAB’s governing body, the Supreme Council. “It is not clear whether this constitutes a conflict of interest in the form of competing fiduciary responsibilities. It is also unclear who determines whether a conflict of interest exists or how it is defined,” read the report.

In addition, Sopko reported that the “State was unaware that one of the individuals it selected to be a fiduciary of DAB’s assets was fired from a previous position for misrepresenting his credentials, raising questions about the adequacy of State’s vetting process through which this individual became a co-fiduciary of $3.5 billion of DAB assets.”

The Afghan Fund is a Swiss-based foundation capitalized with $3.5 billion of the approximately $7 billion of Afghan central bank assets deposited in US financial institutions after the former Afghan government collapsed in August 2021.

The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly asked the international community to unfreeze Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.

Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.

Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”

 

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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities

He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”

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Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”

Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.

“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.

Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.

He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.

Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”

He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”

His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.

The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.

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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin

Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”

Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.

“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.

He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.

Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”

He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.

His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.

The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.

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