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.