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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.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that a mortar shell of the Pakistani military regime hit Shanpat area of Nari district of Kunar province at 9:30 am on Sunday, killing one civilian and wounding another.
The injured person is a woman, he said.
Pakistani forces also opened fire on a civilian vehicle in Shakin district of Paktika province, but no casualties were reported, Fitrat said.
The Pakistani government had earlier announced that it would halt its attacks on Afghanistan until Monday night on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Germany was not informed of the appointment of a new Afghan diplomat in Berlin, according to a report by public broadcaster ARD, raising fresh questions about the Islamic Emirate’s expanding control over overseas missions.
The report states that an IEA-linked official has assumed the role of chargé d’affaires at Afghanistan’s embassy in Berlin without prior approval from the German government. Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, host countries must consent to such diplomatic appointments.
Germany does not formally recognize the IEA government, which returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces.
Undisclosed leadership role
According to ARD, the official—identified as Nebrasul H.—arrived in Berlin in July last year as a junior consular staff member, a position approved by German authorities. However, documents obtained by the broadcaster suggest he was also quietly appointed to lead the embassy.
He is reportedly acting as chargé d’affaires, effectively heading the mission and liaising directly with Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul.
The move highlights the IEA’s efforts to consolidate authority over Afghan diplomatic missions abroad, despite lacking broad international recognition.
Berlin ‘not notified’
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said it had received “no notification of any personnel changes” at Afghan diplomatic missions in the country.
Berlin has consistently maintained that Afghan embassies should remain under representatives appointed by the former government of Ashraf Ghani, which was ousted in 2021.
Previous envoy sidelined
The report also claims that the previous head of mission, Abdul P., has been stripped of his authority and reduced to a largely symbolic role. He was originally appointed under the Ghani administration.
Despite being sidelined, he remains in Berlin, reportedly continuing to live in the ambassador’s residence and retaining diplomatic privileges.
Wider diplomatic shift
In a related development, ARD reported that another Afghan official who arrived alongside Nebrasul H. has assumed a leadership role at the Afghan consulate in Bonn, also without formal recognition from German authorities.
The developments suggest a broader strategy by the IEA to assert control over Afghanistan’s diplomatic presence in Europe, even in countries that do not officially recognize its rule.
Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump, says efforts are ongoing to secure the release of all Americans detained in Afghanistan.
In a post on X, Gorka marked the anniversary of the release of George Glezmann, who had been held for 836 days, describing his detention as part of what he called the Islamic Emirate’s use of “hostage diplomacy.”
He added that Trump “will not rest” until all Americans held in Afghanistan are freed, naming detainees including Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and Polynesus Jackson.
“Kabul, you have been warned,” he said.
The remarks come amid increased US pressure, including a recent designation by U.S. State Department labeling Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has described the decision as regrettable, emphasizing that disputes should be addressed through dialogue.
The ministry, said that citizens of no country are detained in Afghanistan for bargaining purposes. Instead, some individuals have been arrested on charges of violating the law, many of whom have later been released after completing legal procedures.
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