Afghanistan Peace CampaignThis amount represents half of the $7 billion in Afghan foreign reserves frozen at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after the fall of the previous government and the rise of the Islamic Emirate in August 2021.
In February 2022, former U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order allocating half of the assets to aid the Afghan people, while leaving the other half open to legal proceedings. However, with this new court decision, the victims will also be unable to access the second half of the funds.
Mir Shakib Mir, an economic analyst, stated: “The reserves held in the U.S. Federal Reserve belong to the people of Afghanistan and the Afghan central bank. These funds were largely accumulated by the Central Bank during the republic era and were either entrusted or invested in the U.S. The Afghan people, the central bank, and these reserves have no connection to the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks.”
According to Reuters, the ruling marks a setback for some victims who had previously sought to claim a portion of the Afghan assets through legal action against groups like al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that the 9/11 victims have no connection to the Afghan people’s assets, which rightfully belong to them.
Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: “The 9/11 victims have no relation to the Afghan people’s assets. These frozen funds are the rightful and logical property of the Afghan people and must be released as soon as possible and handed over to the Central Bank.”
Abdul Zuhor Mudaber, another economic expert, added: “The freezing of Afghan funds by the U.S. is an economic crisis. Any step that leads to the release of these funds would benefit the Afghan people and be a valuable move.”
Despite ongoing political and legal pressure, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly called on the U.S. to unfreeze the assets and allow the central bank to access them, yet the request remains unanswered.