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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.
Ariana Afghan Airlines has ranked seventh among 45 airlines in Central Asia in Skytrax’s 2026 rankings.
Company officials say Ariana Afghan ranked eighth on the list in 2025, but moved up one place this year following improvements in service quality and the expansion of its operations.
According to the officials, in 2026 the airline met criteria including service quality, flight safety, professional cabin crew, and experience in the aviation sector, placing it among the top 10 airlines in Central Asia.
Skytrax is an international organization that evaluates and ranks the quality of services in the aviation industry and airlines, assessing and ranking carriers annually based on specific criteria.
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Silk Road highway in Wakhan corridor now reaches the China border
The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.
The construction of the Silk Road Highway in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor has been fully completed after five years of work, officials in Badakhshan province said.
Amanullah Chehra, head of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in Badakhshan, said the 121.13-kilometre road begins in the Barghil area and stretches to Bzai Gonbad near the Chinese border.
According to officials, the road is between 7 and 10 metres wide and includes three major bridges, each measuring approximately 20 to 22 metres in length. Numerous smaller drainage structures have also been built along the route to facilitate the flow of water.
The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, met on Wednesday with Bruno Lemarquis, UNAMA’s Deputy Head for Humanitarian Affairs, to discuss the situation of Afghan returnees and humanitarian assistance.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said Lemarquis briefed the minister on assessments conducted by UN agencies during visits to several provinces to identify the needs of returnee families.
Lemarquis said joint cooperation between UN agencies and the Islamic Emirate is needed to support and resettle returnees. He added that UN agencies are currently assisting thousands of families and called for the expansion of humanitarian assistance.
He also said the international community should pay greater attention to the needs of Afghans, adding that UNAMA is ready to cooperate in addressing challenges facing returnees.
Abdul Kabir welcomed UNAMA’s support and thanked the United Nations for its assistance to Afghans. He said various government institutions have been tasked with addressing returnees’ needs.
The minister also called on aid organizations to continue supporting returnee families, saying a program to resettle thousands of internally displaced families is also underway.
Kabir further said the necessary facilities have been provided for UN agencies to operate and that the Islamic Emirate welcomes UNAMA’s humanitarian cooperation.
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