KABUL: As Afghanistan is facing an economic and financial crisis, the Taliban government on Wednesday pleaded to the US Congress members to unfreeze Afghan assets frozen after their takeover of the country, warning economic disaster could affect other countries as well.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi maintained in an open letter that the biggest challenge facing Afghanistan was financial turmoil, “and the roots of this concern lead back to the freezing of assets of our people by the American government”.
Earlier, Washington has seized nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank, and the aid-dependent economy has effectively collapsed — with civil servants unpaid for months and the treasury unable to pay for imports.
“I present to you our compliments and would like to share a few thoughts on our bilateral relations,” Muttaqi wrote, noting that 2021 was the centenary of Washington recognizing Afghanistan´s sovereignty.
“Akin to other world countries, our bilateral relations have also experienced ups and downs,” he added.
Muttaqi said Afghanistan was enjoying stable government for the first time in over 40 years — a period that started with an invasion by the Soviet Union in 1979 and ended with the withdrawal of the last US troops on August 31.
After returning to power, the Taliban have gone to greater lengths to assure the international community that they intend to do things differently this time — though no female ministers have been named, and girls are still barred from returning to secondary school.
“Practical steps have been taken towards good governance, security and transparency,” Muttaqi wrote. “No threat is posed to the region or world from Afghanistan and a pathway has been paved for positive cooperation.”
