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Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland Has Generated $300M in Interest

June 18, 2024
 Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews’ Reporter
18 June 2024

The Afghan Trust Fund was created in September 2022 to safeguard $3.5 billion of the country’s assets in Switzerland.

Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, board member of the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland, told TOLOnews that the fund has so far generated about $300 million in profit.

Shah Mohammad Mehrabi said that the primary purpose of establishing this fund is to ensure financial stability in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Trust Fund was created in September 2022 to safeguard $3.5 billion of the country’s assets in Switzerland.

Shah Mohammad Mehrabi said: “As a trustee and co-chair of the Afghan fund, my role is to safeguard these funds including any interest they generate and assure it’s used in accordance with the primary objective of maintaining financial stability.”

A number of economic experts believe that the gains from Afghanistan’s assets should be spent on developmental projects to positively impact the country’s economic growth.

Abdul Naseer Reshtia, an economic expert, said: “If this money is spent on non-economic purposes, it could devalue the Afghan currency. Additionally, this money can help Afghanistan in establishing credibility in international trade.”

Another economic expert, Abdul Zohoor Mudaber, said: “It is good that the Afghanistan Trust Fund has generated income. This should be returned to the people of Afghanistan so they can invest in appropriate areas such as infrastructure, the agriculture sector, the energy sector, and water resources according to their preferences.”

The Ministry of Economy once again called on the United States to release Afghanistan’s assets without any conditions.

Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, said: “The freezing of Afghan people’s assets is in violation of international laws. I hope these assets are released as soon as possible and that the release can positively contribute to the country’s economic growth and development.”

Following the political changes in August 2021, more than nine billion dollars of Afghanistan’s assets were frozen in US and European banks.

Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland Has Generated $300M in Interest
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Republicans fume over report part of $2.8B Afghan humanitarian funding went to Taliban

June 18, 2024

By Charles Creitz

 Fox News

Published 
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss his efforts to gain State Department records of any communication with ‘pro-Hamas’ groups.

House Republicans are fuming at the Biden administration over reports that tens of millions of dollars of U.S. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may have ended up in Taliban hands.

During a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing last week, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., opened his chairman’s remarks by listing off several State Department expenditures he found either egregious, lacking proper oversight or both.

Mast pointed to a reported $2.8 billion in humanitarian funding being directed to Afghanistan following the disastrous 2021 withdrawal that claimed the lives of more than a dozen American service members and led to the Taliban retaking control of the Kabul government.placeholder

After admonishing the State Department over a $500,000 grant he characterized as going to “promote atheism in Nepal,” Mast took aim at what reportedly happened to the billions the U.S. sent to help Afghan civilians after their country was upturned.Video

“Another example is that the Biden administration has sent more than $2.8 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August of 2021. The report shows tens of millions of dollars of that money going directly into the hands of the Taliban,” Mast said, calling the examples the “tip of the iceberg” in incompetent federal appropriations.

In May, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement on a federal inspector general’s findings that at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer funds were at least indirectly provided to the Taliban.

“It is unacceptable for any U.S. funding to benefit the Taliban,” McCaul said.

“The Biden administration must take immediate action to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to the Taliban,” McCaul said in a statement praising the latest work of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

SIGAR was originally established in 2008. Its latest report found the nearly $11 million paid by State Department entities and other partners was “likely only a fraction” of what the Taliban ultimately received in forms like taxes, fees, duties and utilities.

In his remarks, Mast called the Afghanistan funding issue along with his other cited examples “the epitome of ‘America Last.’”

“Our country is competing for influence all across the globe with China, Russia and Iran and other enemies,” Mast said.

Previously, the State Department pushed back on claims it intended to promote atheism in the Himalayas, as Mast’s second barb highlighted.

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma testified before Congress in March that after looking at the grant and its materials, that promoting atheism was not what the grant was meant for and “that is not what the work would be for.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and State Department for further comment.

Republicans fume over report part of $2.8B Afghan humanitarian funding went to Taliban
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Reclusive Taliban leader warns Afghans against earning money

June 18, 2024

By The Associated Press

June 17, 2024, 9:04 AM
The Taliban leader has warned Afghans against earning money or gaining worldly honor, at a time when the country is in the grip of humanitarian crises and is isolated on the global stage

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader on Monday warned Afghans against earning money or gaining worldly honor at a time when the country is in the grip of humanitarian crises and isolated on the global stage.

Hibatullah Akhundzada gave his warning in a sermon to mark the festival of Eid al-Adha at a mosque in southern Kandahar province, weeks before a Taliban delegation goes to Doha, Qatar for U.N.-hosted talks on Afghanistan.

This is the first round of talks the Taliban will attend since they seized power in August 2021. They weren’t invited to the conference of foreign special envoys to Afghanistan in the first round, and they snubbed the second round because they wanted to be treated as the country’s official representatives.

No government recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, whose aid-dependent economy was plunged into turmoil following their takeover.

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the invitation to the Doha meeting at the end of June does not imply recognition of the Taliban.

Messages by him and another influential Taliban figure, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to mark a religious festival in April showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support.

In Monday’s message, Akhundzada said he wanted brotherhood among Muslims and that he was unhappy about differences between citizens and Taliban officials. Public dissent over Taliban edicts is rare, and protests are swiftly and sometimes violently quashed.

He said he would willingly accept any decision to remove him as supreme leader, as long as there was unity and agreement on his ouster. But he was unhappy about differences and disagreement between people.

“We were created to worship Allah and not to earn money or gain worldly honor,” Akhundzada said. “Our Islamic system is God’s system and we should stand by it. We have promised God that we will bring justice and Islamic law (to Afghanistan) but we cannot do this if we are not united. The benefit of your disunity reaches the enemy; the enemy takes advantage of it.”

Akhundzada told Taliban officials to listen to the advice of religious scholars and entrust them with authority. He said officials shouldn’t be arrogant, boast, or deny the truth about Islamic law.

Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, who has written several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, said Akhundzada’s appeals for unity were a sign of desperation because he refused to spell out the real issues facing Afghans such as unemployment, economic development, and building a consensus for social reform.

“I would not be convinced that this was a meaningful speech if I were the Taliban,” said Rashid.

Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, said Akhundzada’s focus on unity may also be preemptive and meant to nip in the bud any possibility that rifts could flare up again.

He also questioned if the audience being targeted went beyond Afghans to focus on the global Muslim community.

“Operationally speaking, the Taliban don’t have transnational goals. But the supreme leader looks to command respect beyond Afghanistan’s borders,” said Kugelman.

Reclusive Taliban leader warns Afghans against earning money
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War Veterans and Family Testify at Al Qaeda Commander’s War Crimes Tribunal

June 17, 2024

Reporting from Guantánamo Bay

The New York Times

Victims of insurgent attacks in wartime Afghanistan described their loss to a jury at Guantánamo Bay to give a human face to a written guilty plea.

A U.S. Army veteran spoke about being left blind by a sniper’s bullet in wartime Afghanistan. A Florida father said he lost his best friend when a roadside charge killed his eldest son, a Green Beret. A former bomb squad member described two decades of trauma and anxiety from dismantling a car bomb that could have killed him.

The physical and emotional carnage of the early years of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was on display Friday as prosecutors presented their case to an 11-member U.S. military jury hearing evidence in the sentencing trial of a prisoner called Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi.

Mr. Hadi, 63, sat silently alongside his American military and civilian lawyers, mostly with his head bowed, throughout the testimony. Next week he will address the jury about his own failing health and trauma from time in U.S. detention, starting with several months in C.I.A. custody after his capture in Turkey in 2006.

The case is an unusual one at the court, which has focused on terrorism cases, such as the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In an 18-page written plea, Mr. Hadi admitted that he served as a commander of Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan who had committed classic war crimes, including using civilian cover for attacks such as turning a taxi into a car bomb.

Sergeant Van Tassel mopped tears from his eyes as he described how fear and the hardship of his continuing service had harmed his family. “I’m going to do it until I can’t do it anymore,” he said, declaring himself “afraid of not being busy” once he retires from service.

Under the rules of the court, victims cannot recommend a sentence to the jury of U.S. officers from the Army, Air Force and Marines who will decide a sentencing range of 25 to 30 years. Instead, the witnesses told their stories of loss.

To Maris Lebid, a detective on the Cape Coral, Fla., police force, her big brother Capt. Daniel W. Eggers, 28, was a leader and mentor to his six sisters and brothers by the time he and three other members of his Special Forces unit were killed by a land mine in Afghanistan in 2004.

After learning of his death, Mr. Eggers said, “my PTSD just went right through the roof.” It is a condition, he said, that has caused cognitive difficulties and for which he receives treatment at a Veterans Affairs facility in Florida.

Tears ran down the face of retired Master Sgt. Robert Stout, a former National Guard soldier, who struggled to describe the trauma he has experienced since March 2004. His six-vehicle convoy had been shadowed by a suspicious taxi in Jalalabad that the soldier realized was probably an improvised car bomb.

It failed to explode, but Sergeant Stout, who in civilian life served as a bomb disposal expert with a state police unit, later discovered about 500 pounds of explosives packed inside and dismantled it. The episode has haunted him ever since and forced his early retirement from public service.

“I needed to get my calm back,” he said, describing himself in a state of constant hypervigilance. Even now, two decades later, he said, “I have a problem with crying over stupid stuff. It’s embarrassing as heck.”

Colin Rich, a retired sergeant major in the U.S. Army, was led to the witness stand by a prosecution team escort to describe how he had been shot through the head by an enemy bullet on Dec. 29, 2002. By then, Mr. Hadi “directed, organized, funded, supplied and oversaw Al Qaeda’s operations against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan,” according to his guilty plea.

In time, Sergeant Major Rich lost all but 20 percent of his vision. “My door-kicking days were over,” he said, describing how he had continued to serve in an administrative capacity until he was medically retired five years later.

“I haven’t driven in 20 years,” he said. “I have to have people run my errands. I stay at home most of the time, waiting for another seizure to happen.”

Carol Rosenberg reports on the wartime prison and court at Guantánamo Bay. She has been covering the topic since the first detainees were brought to the U.S. base in 2002.

War Veterans and Family Testify at Al Qaeda Commander’s War Crimes Tribunal
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Afghans Celebrate Eid Without Security Incidents

June 17, 2024
 Shabnam Amini
Tolo News
17 June 2024

Eid is a festival that citizens of the country celebrate every year by setting up festive tables with dried and fresh fruits and visiting each other’s homes.

Residents of the capital and other provinces of the country celebrated the first day of Eid al-Adha by performing the Eid prayer, slaughtering animals, and going to parks.

Some of these residents stated that they started the first day of Eid in an atmosphere of peace and security. They called on the Islamic Emirate to provide lasting peace and job opportunities for the country’s citizens.

Hedayatullah, one of the residents of Kabul, said: “We performed the Eid prayer in a spirit of camaraderie and tranquility, and our request from the Islamic Emirate government is to ensure security and peace for the people.”

Hamid Agha, a butcher, said: “Since it’s Eid al-Adha, I slaughtered ten to twelve animals.”

Eid is a festival that citizens of the country celebrate every year by setting up festive tables with dried and fresh fruits and visiting each other’s homes.

Mohammad Zafar, a resident of Kabul, said: “Eid is an occasion to dispel grudges and foster intimacy.”

Zahir, a resident of Kabul, said: “Traditions that have been prevalent since ancient times during Eid include visiting friends and those who have experienced joy or sorrow between the two Eids.”

Eid days also provide a glimmer of hope for children, who spend Eid days in parks with their families.

Somaya, a child, said: “Today is the first day of Eid, and we came to have fun with my father.”

At the same time, poverty and destitution have driven some residents of the capital to the streets on Eid to provide for their families.

Ahmad Shah, a resident of Kabul, said: “Other people go to celebrate and sacrifice on this day, but we came to work because we have nothing.”

Eid al-Adha is celebrated in Afghanistan and Islamic countries.

Afghans Celebrate Eid Without Security Incidents
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Afghan Interim Govt to Attend Third Doha Meeting

June 16, 2024
By TOLOnews
TV Network
16 June 2024

Mujahid told TOLOnews that the composition of the delegation representing the Islamic Emirate in Doha will be announced soon.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, announced the participation of a delegation from the interim government in the third Doha meeting.

Mujahid told TOLOnews that the composition of the delegation representing the Islamic Emirate in Doha will be announced soon.

He emphasized that after evaluations, they concluded that this meeting is in Afghanistan’s best interest.

The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate said: “The Afghan delegation will participate in the upcoming Doha meeting.”

Mujahid mentioned that the key topics to be discussed at the third Doha meeting include humanitarian aid for the Afghan people and creating investment opportunities in the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid added: “The composition of the delegation will be announced later, God willing, and we considered this in Afghanistan’s best interest; the main and important topics are humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and creating opportunities for investors in Afghanistan. There may be other topics as well, but all are considered beneficial for Afghanistan.”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that if there are any changes in the composition and agenda of the third Doha meeting, this will affect the decision-making of the interim government.

This is the third meeting of special representatives of countries initiated by the UN Secretary-General, which will be held regarding Afghanistan.

“If the decisions made at the third Doha meeting genuinely solve Afghanistan’s problems, then this is important for Afghanistan, the region, and the world,” said Sayed Akbar Sial Wardak, a political analyst.

“When the demands of the Islamic Emirate are accepted there, then the presence will be meaningful, and this meeting will bring positive changes to the situation in Afghanistan,” Samiullah Ahmadzai, another political analyst, told TOLOnews.

The third Doha meeting with the presence of special representatives of countries will be held on June 30 and July 1 on Afghanistan.

Earlier, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, visited Kabul and said that in addition to other issues, financial, banking, drug control, and climate change issues will also be addressed; however, the Islamic Emirate had made its participation in this meeting conditional on the acceptance of its demands.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations asked the participants of this meeting to place the issue of human rights at the center of their discussions.

Afghan Interim Govt to Attend Third Doha Meeting
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A Thousand Days Without Education: UN Condemns Afghan Girls’ Plight

June 16, 2024
TOLOnews
TV Network
16 June 2024

Bahous emphasized that the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and urged global solidarity.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), has raised concerns over the ongoing restrictions faced by women and girls in Afghanistan. Speaking out more than a thousand days after girls above the sixth grade were barred from education, Bahous highlighted the continued deprivation of rights, freedom, and voices of Afghan women.

In a poignant message on X, Bahous emphasized that the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and urged global solidarity.

“A stark reminder that the assault on the rights, freedoms, and voices of Afghan women and girls continues. We cannot abandon Afghan women and girls in their fight for their right to live lives of their own choosing. Their struggle is our collective responsibility,” she said.

Roya, a student, told TOLOnews: “I studied for nine and a half years, worked hard, and dreamed about my goals, but all of it has been wasted. We have been at home for a thousand days.”

Meanwhile, Amnesty International also called on the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools for girls in Afghanistan. According to Amnesty International, Afghan girls have been deprived of the right to education due to “discriminatory and unjust policies.”

Amnesty International added: “For 1000 days, Afghan girls have been deprived of their right to education, locked out of their schools due to the discriminatory and unjust Taliban policies violating international law. The Taliban must immediately re-open all secondary schools to girls.”

Tafsir Siahposh, a women’s rights activist, says: “The Islamic Emirate makes promises to us every day, and we are always waiting for their next decree; but unfortunately, they have never wanted to act according to their promises.”

Although the Islamic Emirate has not recently commented on the reopening or non-reopening of schools for girls above the sixth grade, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education, amid a wave of reactions, published an audio recording of Mawlana Abdul Ali Deobandi about the education of girls and women.

In part of this recording, Mawlana Abdul Ali Deobandi, a religious scholar, said: “Islamic countries have established schools for women where they learn writing and lessons. Islamic countries have remained Islamic in name only. Islamic countries are influenced by infidels and cannot establish Islamic governments and enforce Quranic rules because they fear the infidels.”

The reactions to the ban on women’s and girls’ education in the country have resumed while a large number of human rights activists, organizations, and prominent individuals, including Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Gordon Brown, the UN’s special for Global Education, Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghanistan’s women, girls and human rights, have joined the campaign to raise the voices of Afghan girls.

A Thousand Days Without Education: UN Condemns Afghan Girls’ Plight
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Wheat production in Afghanistan increased by 13% compared to last year

June 14, 2024
Khaama Press

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of the Taliban has announced that wheat production in Afghanistan has increased by 13% compared to last year, with around 4.9 million metric tons of wheat expected to be harvested nationwide.

On Thursday, June 13, the ministry published statistics showing that 6% more land was cultivated with wheat this year compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation emphasized that due to this year’s rainfall, wheat production in the country has seen a significant increase compared to the past two years.

The ministry’s statement also mentioned that devastating floods in several provinces have destroyed cultivated areas and wiped out wheat crops.

Moreover, the ministry has warned that despite the current wheat production, the country will face a shortfall of around 2 million metric tons of wheat in 2024.

According to the ministry, approximately 2.14 million hectares were projected to be under wheat cultivation in 2024, from which around 4.9 million metric tons of wheat are expected to be harvested nationwide.

This comes amid reports that drought and devastating floods in recent years have led to the destruction of thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the country.

On the other hand, according to the UN report, over 23 million people in Afghanistan are in need of aid this year due to the dire humanitarian crisis in the country.

However, providing this aid is not possible due to the shortage of funds and the lack of a transparent, responsive, and functioning government in Afghanistan.

Wheat production in Afghanistan increased by 13% compared to last year
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WFP: 12 million Afghans face hunger before Eid al-Adha

June 14, 2024
Khaama Press

 

On the eve of Eid al-Adha, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that 12 million Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from.

The organization added that Eid is a time for joy and celebration with friends and family, but for many Afghans, it is just “another hard day.”

On Friday, June 14, the WFP shared a video on the social media platform X, calling for assistance for those in need during the days of Eid.

The UN-affiliated organization stated: “As Eid al-Adha approaches, millions celebrate and gather with their families over food, while a quarter of Afghanistan’s population goes to bed hungry every day.”

The video released by the WFP also highlighted that 12 million people in Afghanistan do not know where their next meal will come from.

Recently, the UN humanitarian aid coordinator reported that 23.7 million people, including 9.2 million children in Afghanistan, require humanitarian assistance.

The World Food Programme has also requested $650 million to continue its operations in Afghanistan.

This comes amid the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan, which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. Thousands of refugees are being sent back to Afghanistan, where they face dire conditions and lack basic necessities, adding to the burden on already stretched resources.

Deadly floods and Taliban restrictions on women working with aid organizations further compound the challenges.

The floods have destroyed homes and infrastructure, leaving many homeless and without access to clean water. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s restrictions on women working in aid organizations have severely limited the ability to provide essential services and support to the most vulnerable populations, including women and children.

WFP: 12 million Afghans face hunger before Eid al-Adha
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Malala Fund announces $1.5 million to support girls’ education in Afghanistan

June 14, 2024
Khaama Press

The Malala Fund announced on Friday, June 14, a donation of $1.5 million to support girls’ education in Afghanistan.

This donation is allocated to 13 organizations working on Afghan girls’ education.

This financial aid is provided as Afghan girls have been barred from education under Taliban rule for 1,000 days.

The Malala Fund expressed concern about this situation and urged countries worldwide to take action against the education ban for girls in Afghanistan.

Malala Yousafzai, the founder of the fund, posted a video on social media stating: “Millions of Afghan women and girls live under a gender apartheid system, unable to attend school, work, or participate in public life.”

Malala noted that despite the dire conditions, Afghan women and girls resist by learning in secret and speaking out against the Taliban.

The Malala Fund has dedicated this donation to more than 10 organizations that offer educational programs for Afghan girls via satellite and online platforms.

The Taliban’s move to close girls’ schools has faced widespread global condemnation, yet the group remains unwilling to lift the ban after 1,000 days.

The Taliban’s oppressive policies have also barred women from their basic rights, including education and employment. Women are not allowed to work in most sectors, severely limiting their economic opportunities and independence.

In addition to banning education for girls, the Taliban has imposed strict regulations on women’s dress and movement, enforcing rules that confine women to their homes and limit their participation in public life. These measures have drawn criticism from human rights organizations worldwide.

Malala Fund announces $1.5 million to support girls’ education in Afghanistan
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