U.S. aid watchdog for Afghanistan declares that Taliban has no legal entitlement to billions of dollars allocated for country
(MENAFN) The U.S. aid watchdog for Afghanistan has declared that the Taliban has no legal entitlement to billions of dollars allocated for the country. This is because the group is not recognized as a legitimate government and is subject to international sanctions. In its latest report, the inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction recommended that President Donald Trump's administration and congress consider returning approximately $4 billion designated for Afghanistan to U.S. government control. This recommendation follows the 2022 transfer of $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank assets, which were frozen in the U.S., to the Afghan People's Fund in Switzerland. According to the report, this fund has grown to around $4 billion, but no funds have been distributed to the Afghan people yet.
The report highlights that the Taliban's demand for these funds is without legal basis, as the group is not recognized by the U.S. as a legitimate government, is on Washington's global terrorist list, and is subject to both U.S. and international sanctions. This follows President Trump's decision to freeze foreign aid for 90 days to assess its alignment with U.S. policies. Additionally, the report reveals that since the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, the U.S. has spent $3.71 billion in aid to Afghanistan, mainly through U.N. agencies, with an additional $1.2 billion available for future disbursements.
While U.S. humanitarian assistance has helped prevent famine amid Afghanistan’s economic collapse, it has not stopped the Taliban from taking Americans hostage, restricting women’s and girls' rights, censoring the media, turning Afghanistan into a safe haven for terrorists, and targeting former Afghan government officials.
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