According to CCTV news, the White House issued a statement on February 11, local time, announcing that President Biden has officially signed an executive order to unfreeze Afghan assets in the United States, and set aside $3.5 billion from the $7 billion in assets to stay in the United States and compensate " The other half of the families of the 9/11 victims were transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help the "people of Afghanistan", and these assets will not be returned to the Taliban.
According to United Nations estimates, in Afghanistan, 55% of the population, or about 23 million people, is currently facing severe famine, and more than half of Afghan children over the age of 5 are severely malnourished.
Some 3.5 million Afghans are also displaced, without shelter or winter supplies to withstand the severe cold.
It is estimated that 4.4 billion US dollars, or about 28 billion yuan, will need to be raised in 2022 to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
In response, Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Afghan interim government, responded that Biden's move was "stealing" the property of the Afghan people, showing that the United States "has degenerated to the lowest level in human nature and morality."
On the 12th, Afghan people held a protest in Kabul.
They used English slogans to accuse the United States of brutally stealing Afghans' money.
Protesters are demanding U.S. compensation for the relatives of tens of thousands of Afghans killed over the past 20 years.
"US stealing money from Afghans" became a trending topic on Twitter in Afghanistan.
How is this money made up and who should it be given to?
After more than $7 billion was frozen, multiple parties asked for money
According to foreign media reports, before the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, a large number of people, including its former president, the head of the central bank, and senior government officials, fled Afghanistan.
At that time, Afghanistan's assets worth more than 7 billion US dollars were still in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States, and there were about 2 billion US dollars in assets in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. government soon announced that it had frozen its overseas assets totaling about $9.5 billion, and no one could use it.
Later, the Taliban government quickly asked the U.S. side for permission for the asset.
In September of last year, the families of about 150 9/11 victims were approved by judges to issue "execution orders" to the Federal Reserve Bank's legal department to seize the assets.
As soon as this incident came to light, other organizations related to the "9.11" incident also launched similar lawsuits, demanding a portion of the funds.
It is against this background that the National Security Council of the White House convened senior officials from various departments, including the Justice Department, State Department, and Treasury Department, for months-long discussions.
Until the morning of February 11, President Biden signed an executive order officially announcing that $3.5 billion of the $7 billion in assets would be set aside to stay in the United States, compensate the families of the victims of the "9.11" incident, and the other half would be transferred to New York. An account at the Federal Reserve Bank to help the "people of Afghanistan", the assets will not be returned to the Taliban.
What are the composition of funds?
Including the deposits of ordinary Afghan people
The funds, including cash, bonds and gold, are reportedly owned by the Central Bank of Afghanistan, and a considerable part of it comes from the exchange fund accumulated by Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
During those years, the United States and other Western countries provided Afghanistan with large aid payments.
Alex Zeden, a former senior U.S. Treasury official in Afghanistan, said the central bank's reserves are just in case the Afghan people need it.
Another $500 million in this asset is the reserves of various Afghan commercial banks.
This is a certain amount of deposits that commercial banks must keep according to the law, including the deposits of ordinary people in Afghanistan.
Not all families of 9/11 victims
all want the money
Lawyers for the families of the 9/11 victims had previously proposed similar arrangements, and one of the plaintiffs, Ramon Melendez, said in a statement this week through his lawyers that it was fair to compensate the families of the victims.
"I lost my wife on 9/11, became a single father of two sons, and then lost my house." Melendez said that although he won the lawsuit, he never got a penny.
He believes that some of the money should be used to provide humanitarian relief to the Afghan people, but "I also hope that my verdict will be fully respected."
Not all families of 9/11 victims want the money, though.
Barry Ann Mulderson's brother Craig was killed in the Pentagon attack.
He said, however, that his organization "for the peaceful 9/11 families of tomorrow" believes that all money should be used to benefit the Afghan people.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Lin Rong Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency International Online