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Interest of $270 million earned so far from Afghanistan’s frozen assets
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, a member of the board of directors of the Afghanistan Trust Fund (ATF) in Switzerland, says the fund has so far earned $270 million in interest.
Ahady told Radio Azadi on Wednesday that this interest, earned from the $3.5 billion, can be used in Afghanistan if necessary.
“Some projects, some basic expenses of the government or the government that they do not have the power to pay and are necessary for the people of Afghanistan are also used there. But in any case, four members of the board must fully agree for such expenses.
“In the last meeting, more than a month ago, on January 29, a decision was made that if the Afghan government cannot pay the loan of the Asian Bank … and they insist that we pay, then it is possible to use this money.
“Because the Asian Bank provides humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and we do not want the humanitarian aid of the Asian Bank to be cut off. Of course, the same ruling was in the case of the World Bank, but this loan was paid by the government itself, so there was no need for us,” Ahady told Liberty radio.
At the same time, Ahady said all four board members need to agree to the spending of this money.
Turkish TRT news channel said in a report on Wednesday that the officials involved in the discussions about the spending of the money of the Afghanistan Trust Fund say for the stability of Afghanistan’s ruined financial system, it is necessary to release this money.
But according to reports, the four board members, Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Dr. Shah Mehrabi, Dr. Jay Shambaugh, and Ambassador Alexandra Baumann, could not agree on how to spend the money, almost 18 months after the establishment of the fund.
A source told TRT that while all board members agree that this money should not be touched, the interest earned should go towards helping the people of Afghanistan.
After the return of the Islamic Emirate to power in August 2021, $7 billion belonging to the Central Bank of Afghanistan was frozen in the United States, half of which has been invested in a Swiss trust account.
The other half and is earmarked to be paid over to the families of 9/11 attacks.
The Islamic Emirate has however tried unsuccessfully to have the fund released.
During the republic, Da Afghanistan Bank, which was responsible for the country’s monetary stability, kept this capital abroad as a monetary support.
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Khalilzad warns Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions likely to worsen after fresh airstrikes
Former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has warned that the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan and recent violence inside Pakistan are part of a wider crisis, saying he sees no indication that the situation is about to change.
In a post on X on Thursday, Khalilzad described the Pakistani airstrikes that have killed Afghan civilians and the increasing use of force against civilians in Pakistan as “interconnected tragedies,” implying both effected by Pakistan’s establishment.
“Unfortunately, I do not see any signs of change,” Khalilzad said, adding that current indicators suggested the use of force against Pakistanis would “likely get worse” in the coming days.
His comments came after Pakistan carried out a new wave of airstrikes inside Afghanistan overnight Thursday, saying it had targeted 10 locations used to launch and store drones.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier and described them as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate.”
Afghan officials said the strikes killed four civilians. The attacks reportedly hit locations including Kandahar, Khost and Paktia provinces. Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate authorities have denied launching the drones cited by Pakistan and have condemned the strikes.
The latest attacks follow Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week in Kunar and Paktika. Pakistan said those operations killed 28 militants, while the United Nations confirmed that three Afghan civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed, with four others injured.
The renewed airstrikes come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from its territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan authorities reject the allegations and say militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.
Khalilzad has previously called for a change in Pakistan’s strategy toward both its internal security problems and Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan summons Pakistani chargé d’affaires over latest airstrikes
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to Kabul and lodged a strong protest against the violation of Afghan airspace and Pakistani military airstrikes on several Afghan provinces.
The ministry handed the Pakistani diplomat a formal protest note following the attacks on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Wednesday night, which reportedly caused civilian casualties.
The Islamic Emirate strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to Islamic, international, humanitarian and good-neighborly principles.
The ministry also rejected what it called baseless claims that Afghan territory was being used as a source of Pakistan’s recent security incidents.
It said using such claims to justify military action was an attempt to distort facts, mislead public opinion and conceal Pakistan’s internal failures.
The Islamic Emirate further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of avoiding commitments made to regional countries and warned that such actions could further escalate tensions in the region.
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Museum dedicated to preserving ‘Jihadi’ artefacts opens in Kandahar
The museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
A museum dedicated to preserving what Afghan authorities describe as “Jihadi artefacts” has officially opened in Kandahar, with officials saying more than 100 items have so far been collected for display.
Mufti Mohammad Tahir Ahmad, Director General for the Preservation of Jihadi Artefacts at the Ministry of Information and Culture, attended the inauguration ceremony alongside Qari Ahmadullah Saeed Khosti, Director of Registration for Jihadi Artefacts and Documents.
Mufti Inamullah Samangani, head of the Kandahar Information and Culture Department, and officials from several government departments also attended the ceremony.
According to the official responsible for preserving the artefacts in Kandahar, the museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
The collection includes weapons that officials say were captured from British, Soviet and US forces, as well as personal belongings and other items associated with people killed during Afghanistan’s conflicts over the past two decades.
Officials said efforts to collect additional artefacts would continue in order to expand the museum’s collection.
The museum is now open to visitors, according to the officials.
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