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US court blocks 9/11 victims’ bid for Afghanistan’s frozen funds
The families had argued that Afghanistan’s reserves should be used as compensation because the IEA provided safe haven to al-Qaeda, the group behind the attacks.
A US federal appeals court has rejected efforts by families of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 1998 al-Qaeda embassy bombings in Africa to claim billions of dollars from Afghanistan’s frozen central bank reserves.
In its August 21 ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said that the $3.5 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is protected under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which shields state-owned assets from seizure.
The court stressed that Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the country’s central bank, is a state institution and therefore immune from claims targeting the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
The families had argued that Afghanistan’s reserves should be used as compensation because the IEA provided safe haven to al-Qaeda, the group behind the attacks.
But the court found the plaintiffs failed to prove that the central bank was under IEA control on August 15, 2021, when Kabul fell and the assets were frozen. While the IEA later replaced senior bank officials, Judge José Cabranes noted there was no evidence of such control at the time of the freeze.
The funds were blocked by the Biden administration following the IEA takeover in 2021. The victims’ families sought access through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), but the court ruled they could not show that DAB was being used as a “terrorist instrument.”
The decision marks a major setback for families pursuing long-standing compensation claims against al-Qaeda and its backers.
Al-Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, as well as the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people.
Pakistan on Friday summoned Afghan Deputy Head of Mission in Islamabad to convey “strong demarche” over a deadly attack on a military camp in North Waziristan District that killed four Pakistani soldiers.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack was carried out by a faction of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The statement said that Pakistan conveyed “grave concern over the continued support and facilitation” provided by the Islamic Emirate to TTP.
Pakistan has demanded “a full investigation and decisive action against the perpetrators and facilitators of the terrorist attacks launched against Pakistan from Afghan soil.”
It urged the Islamic Emirate “to take immediate, concrete and verifiable measures against all terror groups operating from its territory, including their leadership, and deny the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.
According to the statement, the Islamic Emirate has been “categorically informed that Pakistan reserves the right to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens, and will take all necessary measures to respond to terrorism originating from Afghan soil.”
Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are originated from Afghan soil, a charge the Islamic Emirate denies.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has underscored Afghanistan’s continued importance in regional cooperation, saying the country remains one of the key areas of interaction among regional partners.
Addressing the first summit of the “Central Asia Plus Japan” dialogue, Mirziyoyev said participating countries share a common aspiration to see Afghanistan become peaceful, stable, and oriented toward meaningful development.
The Uzbek president praised Japan’s longstanding and consistent support for Afghanistan, noting that Tokyo has for many years been among the leading donors and partners assisting the Afghan people.
He expressed confidence that coordinated efforts and joint contributions by regional countries and Japan would help improve living standards in Afghanistan, advance socio-economic and infrastructure development, and facilitate the country’s active involvement in regional economic projects.
The Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan announced on Friday that the country has allocated $19.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
In a statement, the Japanese Embassy said it hopes the aid will help bring positive change to the lives of vulnerable Afghans.
According to the statement, the assistance will cover the basic humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities in Afghanistan.
The embassy added that the aid will be delivered through United Nations agencies, international organizations, and Japanese non-governmental organizations operating in Afghanistan.
Japan’s total assistance to Afghanistan since August 2021 has reached more than $549 million.
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