Karzai Urges Biden To Revert Afghan Fund Order
Kabul, Feb 13: Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai on Sunday called on the US President Joe Biden to revert his decision on Afghan funds.
At a press conference in Kabul, Karzai said the fund belongs to no governments but to the Afghan people and all of it should be returned to Afghanistan’s central bank and should be kept there, TOLOnews reported.
Karzai’s comments came after Biden signed an Executive Order on Friday giving access to $3.5 billion of the frozen assets to address the ongoing crisis and economic condition in Afghanistan. From the total $7 billion, $3.5 billion will remain in US and is subject to the ongoing litigation by victims of the 9/11 attacks, according to White House.
The Afghan people are victims of terrorism as are the US’ people, Karzai said, adding that “no one punishes the victim”. The money of Afghan people should not be given to 9/11 attacks’ victims, Karzai said. Karzai said Osama bin Laden was not brought to Afghanistan by Afghans but by foreigners. He said Osama had come to Afghanistan from Pakistan and then returned and was killed there, but today the people of Afghanistan pay the price for his actions, TOLO said in its report.
If the frozen funds are released, the Taliban should not spend it as it is not for daily expenses, according to Karzai. The funds should be preserved and added for the future generations, the former Afghan President added.
