Unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets: Seven countries appeal

Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said special representatives of Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan held a meeting in Tashkent on Tuesday, where they agreed to hold regular meetings to discuss issues facing Afghanistan. Made a plan.

Special Representative of Uzbekistan Asmatila Arjashev said the group appealed to Western countries to lift the sanctions on the assets of Afghanistan’s central bank as soon as possible.

Speaking to the media after the inaugural meeting of the said club of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, Arjashev said, “The representatives of these countries insisted that the money of the Central Bank of Afghanistan be returned to it so that it can be used mainly for “This can be done for the salaries of school teachers and doctors. Also, it will help some people who are going through difficult situations right now.”

“The representatives of the seven countries also emphasized that nearly two and a half million people in Afghanistan are suffering from hunger and lack of food,” he said.

After the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government in August 2021, the United States froze about $7 billion in assets of the Afghan Central Bank. Apart from this, assets of another two billion dollars in European banks are also frozen. Washington says some of that money will be given to a foundation working to benefit ordinary Afghan citizens.

The United Nations said last month that nearly 600,000 people in Afghanistan are at risk of famine, and two-thirds of the population are facing acute hunger and need urgent aid.

According to the Afghan news agency Khama Press, no Taliban representative was present at the Tashkent meeting. Although several neighboring countries have handed over their Afghan embassies to Taliban diplomats, they are still not invited to such regional level meetings.

Meanwhile, according to Tolo News, Deputy Spokesperson of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Bilal Karimi welcomed the establishment of the club and its meeting in Tashkent. “We welcome all such meetings with Afghanistan in the field of humanitarian cooperation and assistance and strengthening the government as well as other sectors of the country,” he said.

Afghanistan’s neighbors have been pressing the Taliban to respect human rights, end restrictions on women’s and girls’ education, and form an inclusive government in which everyone is represented.