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Joe Biden issues order extending freeze on Afghanistan’s foreign reserves

In a message to Congress on the continuation of the “National Emergency With Respect to the Widespread Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan and the Potential for a Deepening Economic Collapse in Afghanistan,” US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Afghanistan’s foreign reserves would remain frozen beyond February 11.
Biden issued the original executive order on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the threat arising from it on February 11, 2022.
In an order posted to the White House’s website, Biden said: “The widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan — including the urgent needs of the people of Afghanistan for food security, livelihoods support, water, sanitation, health, hygiene, and shelter and settlement assistance, among other basic human needs — and the potential for a deepening economic collapse in Afghanistan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
“In addition, the preservation of certain property of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) held in the United States by United States financial institutions is of the utmost importance to addressing this national emergency and the welfare of the people of Afghanistan.”
He said various “parties, including representatives of victims of terrorism, have asserted legal claims against certain property of DAB or indicated in public court filings an intent to make such claims.” This property, he said, is blocked in accordance with his executive order.
This comes after Afghanistan's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi again asked for the frozen assets to be released. At the "Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative" meeting in Kabul a few weeks ago, Muttaqi called on the US to return the assets to DAB.
The US froze more than $9.5 billion soon after the IEA’s takeover in August 2021.
About $7 billion was being held in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York at the time of the first order. The rest was frozen by banks in other countries.
Of the $7 billion in the US, $3.5 billion has been transferred to a special fund in Switzerland and the remaining money is being held by the US.
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Iran enforces stricter laws on employment of illegal immigrants

Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on Thursday that the country has enforced stricter laws on the employment of illegal immigrants.
According to IRNA, Momeni told reporters that since March last year, about 1.1 million illegal foreign citizens have been repatriated to their country with the coordination of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Pointing out that some deported illegal foreign nationals return to Iran, he stated: "Plans in the areas of physical and electronic border closures have been prioritized to minimize the number of returns."
Momeni emphasized that employing illegal foreign nationals deprives Iranians of many job opportunities, therefore, labor laws have been implemented more strictly in this regard and violating employers will face action.
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IEA says it has control of Afghanistan embassy in Ankara

A foreign ministry official in Kabul said on Thursday that the Islamic Emirate's diplomats at the Afghanistan embassy in Ankara provide consular services and represent the country.
Earlier, the Afghan embassy in Ankara said in a statement that all diplomats appointed by the previous government would end their missions from February 6, 2025, adding that the embassy was handed over to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Zakir Jalali, director of the third political department of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said on X that the Afghan embassy in Ankara continues to operate and is at the service of citizens and other visitors.
"Citizens should be assured that consular services and representating duties are carried out by the diplomats of the Islamic Emirate in the embassy with transparency, responsibility and full commitment," he said. "Changes in diplomatic personnel are common in diplomatic missions.”
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IEA rejects claims of being targeted by cyberattackers

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) said in a statement on Thursday that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) digital systems have not been hacked and that all its data is secure.
This comes after a self-declared hacker group started posting documents on social media claiming that these were taken from IEA government systems over the past 12 months.
However, the IEA said in a statement on Thursday that the documents shared on social media were old documents that could have been leaked from individual computers that lacked security.
The IEA said the aim of social media users, who published the documents, was to confuse the public and make it appear as if the Islamic Emirate’s systems had been targeted in a cyberattack.
They also said their systems are secure, maintained by professional staff and protected from external interference.
In addition, the National Data Center and other archived systems are fully secure and have been reliably maintained against cyberattacks, the IEA’s statement read.
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