Saturday’s demonstrations in Afghanistan’s capital condemned President Joe Biden’s order releasing $3.5 billion of Afghan assets in the U.S. to families of 9/11 victims. They claimed that the money belonged to Afghans.
Protesters gathered in front of Kabul’s Eid Gah mosque to ask for financial compensation from America for the deaths of tens of thousand Afghans during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Friday’s biden order allocates $3.5 billion more in Afghan assets to humanitarian aid. The trust fund will be managed by U.N. officials to aid Afghans. After the Taliban’s arrival in mid August, international money stopped entering Afghanistan. The country’s economy is on the verge of collapse.
Afghanistan’s Central Bank urged Mr. Biden not to revoke his order and release the funds. It stated in a statement Saturday, that the funds belonged to Afghan people and not to any government, party, or group.
Torek Farhadi was a former financial advisor to Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government. He questioned how the U.N. manages Afghan Central Bank Reserves. He stated that the funds were not intended for humanitarian aid, but to “back up the country’s currency, help with monetary policy, and manage the country’s balance of payments.”
He also challenged the legality and legitimacy of Mr. Biden’s order.
Farhadi stated that “These reserves belong the people of Afghanistan, and not to the Taliban… Biden’s decision is unilateral and does not match international law.” “No other country in the world makes such confiscation decisions regarding another country’s reserve.”
Afghanistan holds assets worth approximately $9 billion overseas, which includes $7 billion from the United States. Rest of the money is in Germany, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
“What about the Afghan people, who have made many sacrifices and suffered thousands of deaths?” Abdul Rahman, a civil rights activist, was asked to organize the demonstration.
Rahman stated that he would organize protests in the capital against Mr. Biden’s orders. “This money belongs the Afghan people, not the United States. He said that Afghans have the right to do this.
English spelling errors in placards accused the United States as cruel and stealing the Afghans’ money.
Mohammad Naeem, a Taliban political spokesman, accused the Biden administration of showing “the lowest level humanity…of a country or a nation” in a tweet posted late Friday.
Mr. Biden’s Friday order generated a social media storm with Twitter saying #USA_stole_money_from_afghan was trending among Afghans. Multiple tweets pointed out that 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals and not Afghans.
Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer at the American University in Afghanistan and a social activist, tweeted: “Let’s remind the world that #AfghansDidntCommit911 and that #BidenStealingAfgMoney!”
After being expelled from Sudan in 1995, Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda was brought to Afghanistan by Afghan warlords. These same warlords would later allegise with the U.S.-led coalition in order to defeat the Taliban in 2001. After the horrific 9/11 attacks, which killed thousands, Mullah Mohammad Obaid Omar, the Taliban leader refused to hand bin Laden over to the U.S.
Some analysts still questioned the order of Mr. Biden via Twitter.
Michael Kugelman (deputy director of Asia Program at U.S.-based Wilson Center) called Mr. Biden’s order to divert $3.5 Billion from Afghanistan “heartless.”
“It’s wonderful that $3.5B has been released for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. He tweeted that $3.5B more in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan was being taken and diverted elsewhere.
Kugelman stated that the opposition to Mr. Biden’s order was beyond Afghanistan’s political divide.
He tweeted, “I don’t recall the last time so few people with such vastly differing worldviews were so united about a US policy decision regarding Afghanistan.”
