‘Theft’: Advocates decry US decision to withhold Afghan funds
Al JazeeraPresident Joe Biden’s decision to effectively seize the Afghan central bank’s funds in the United States and repurpose half of the money as compensation to the victims of the 9/11 attacks has drawn rebuke and accusations of “theft” against Washington. “What Biden is proposing is not justice for 9/11 families, it is theft of public funds from an impoverished nation already on the brink of famine and starvation brought on by the United States’ disastrous withdrawal.” The US-backed Afghan government collapsed in August of last year, with the Taliban capturing Kabul amid the pullout of US troops from the country after a 20-year war. “The Biden administration’s decision creates a highly problematic precedent for a policy of essentially commandeering a country’s sovereign wealth and utilising it for things that are not what the people of Afghanistan necessarily want it to be used for,” he said. “Current restrictions on the banking system of Afghanistan are really intensifying the country’s already serious human rights crisis and they’re driving populations into famine,” he said.
History of this topic
US judge says 9/11 victims not entitled to Afghan bank assets
Al Jazeera
Biden frees frozen Afghan billions for relief, 9/11 victims
Associated PressU.S. moves to free $7 billion in Afghan assets to aid Afghan people, 9/11 victims
The Hindu
Biden signs order to secure Afghan funds for aid, 9/11 families
Al Jazeera
Biden to split billions in frozen Afghan funds between 9/11 victims and humanitarian relief
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