BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) — The Afghan Taliban warned on the 14th that the Taliban would “reconsider” U.S. policy if U.S. President Joseph Biden does not reverse the “unjust” decision to embezzle the Afghan Central Bank’s assets in the U.S.
Inamura Samangjani, a deputy spokesman for the Afghan interim government, said in a statement that the U.S. move “violates the rights of all Afghans” and the Afghan interim government strongly opposes it.
Children photographed on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 4, 2021. (Published by Xinhua News Agency, photo by Aria)
On August 15 last year, the Taliban entered and took control of the Afghan capital Kabul. The Biden administration subsequently froze the Afghan central bank’s foreign exchange reserves in the United States at regarding $7 billion. On the 11th of this month, Biden signed an executive order requiring half of the assets to be used as a source of funds to compensate the victims of the “9.11” incident, and the other half to be transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help the “people of Afghanistan”, and The Taliban will not be returned.
According to Samangjani’s statement, the “9/11” attack had nothing to do with the Afghans. “Any misappropriation of the property of the Afghan people under the pretext of this incident” is a clear violation of the peace agreement reached in February 2020 through repeated negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
If the United States wishes to avoid international condemnation and damage relations with the Afghan people, it must reverse the decision and “unconditionally return the assets of the Afghans,” the statement said.
A residential area in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was attacked by U.S. drones on August 29, taken on September 18, 2021. (Published by Xinhua News Agency, photo by Sefrahman Safi)
The statement warned that if the United States does not change its existing position and continues its provocative behavior, it will force the Afghan interim government to “reconsider its policy toward this country.”
According to AFP, Biden’s move apparently angered most Afghans, and even those who oppose the Taliban have publicly expressed their anger at the United States.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency on the 13th, Samangjani said that the decision of the US government was hasty and unfair. Afghanistan is currently facing serious economic problems. The richest country steals money from the poorest country, exposing the extremely dark moral character of the United States.
In an interview with Afghan state media RTA, the acting defense minister of the Afghan interim government, Mohammad Jacob, criticized the U.S. decision as “brutal”.
The “9.11” incident killed more than 3,000 people. The United States identified bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda who was hiding in Afghanistan at the time, as the culprit behind it. In the same year, he launched an anti-terrorism war once morest Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban regime. On August 30 last year, all U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan. The longest war in U.S. history has devastated Afghanistan. More than 30,000 Afghan civilians have been killed by the U.S. military or lost due to the war, and regarding 11 million people have become refugees. On September 7 of the same year, the Afghan Taliban announced the formation of an interim government. (Hu Ruoyu)
Original title: The United States “embezzled” Afghanistan’s central bank assets Taliban angry!
Responsible editor: Deng Jieyi
