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IEA says US agreed not to give Afghan funds to charity organizations
After Washington announced its plan to use half of $7 billion in frozen Afghan assets for humanitarian aid, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said on Friday the US has agreed not to give it to charity organizations.
The agreement came during a meeting between IEA’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and US special envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas West, in Turkey.
“The two sides held detailed discussions on current political & economic situation in Afghanistan. Both sides agreed that the Afghan Central Bank’s USD $3.5 billion unfrozen assets from the US bank shall in no circumstances be given to charity organizations,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, said on Twitter.
During the meeting, the Afghan side underscored that the entire $7 billion should be unfrozen and given to the Afghan central bank as it belongs to the Afghan people, he said.
Muttaqi stated that seizing Afghan assets in any way would adversely affect relations between the two countries, the tweet read.
Last month, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating the possibility of splitting $7 billion in frozen Afghan funds held in the US, potentially allotting half for humanitarian aid to the country while keeping the other half available for victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Meanwhile, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in his latest interview with China’s CCTV, said the US should hand over all Afghan assets to the Afghan central bank.
Afghanistan has been suffering from a severe economic crisis and US freezing of Afghan funds and sanctions is considered to be a major factor behind it.
“If the money is given to foreign organizations, it would not be spent on infrastructure in Afghanistan. It is better to give the money to the finance ministry or the central bank of Afghanistan so that it would be used in infrastructure programs,” said Mohammad Shabir Bashiri, an economic expert.
Officials from the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment say that 294,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit have been exported from the province to foreign countries over the past year.
According to them, the total value of these exports amounts to $519 million.
Abdulbaqi Bina, Deputy Head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, says the products were exported to India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada and several other countries.
Meanwhile, fresh and dried fruit traders are calling on the government to provide alternative transit routes, new markets, and greater facilitation for obtaining visas and transportation for the export of these products.
This comes as nearly 59,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit were exported from Kandahar to foreign countries
The case of 87 Afghan students seeking extensions of their study visas has reached the Islamabad High Court, with the students also asking for protection from arrest, detention and deportation, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
According to Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, the students have petitioned the court to order the government to extend their visas and prevent law-enforcement agencies from harassing, arresting, detaining or deporting them solely because their previous study visas have expired.
During Friday’s hearing, lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel told the court that Pakistan’s Interior Ministry had issued study visas to the Afghan students about a year ago. However, the students say authorities have since stopped extending existing visas and issuing new ones.
The Afghan Students Union at the International Islamic University Islamabad has also said Pakistani authorities have suspended study visa extensions for Afghan students for an extended period. It added that several students have allegedly been arrested and deported in recent months.
The hearing was adjourned following an exchange between Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel.
The case is expected to be heard again later this month.
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Wali Khan urges Pakistan to resolve tensions with Afghanistan through diplomacy
Wali Khan called on Islamabad to pursue a serious diplomatic approach to de-escalate tensions with Afghanistan and other neighboring countries.
Aimal Wali Khan, the President of Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has urged the Pakistani government to address tensions with neighboring countries, particularly Afghanistan, through serious diplomatic engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Thursday, Wali Khan said the ongoing tensions are causing the greatest harm to ordinary people, especially those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
“War is not a permanent solution to any problem,” he stressed.
Wali Khan called on Islamabad to pursue a serious diplomatic approach to de-escalate tensions with Afghanistan and other neighboring countries.
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