Ex-Afghan President: Biden Order on Frozen Funds an Atrocity

On Sunday, Afghanistan's former president described a White House order to unfreeze $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the United States for 9 September victims' families as an "atrocity against the Afghan people."

At a packed news conference, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai enlisted the help of Americans, notably the families of those slain in the 9 September terrorist attacks, to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse last week's order. He called it "unjust and unfair," claiming that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has also killed Afghans.

After being evicted from Sudan in 1996, Afghan warlords took Bin Laden to Afghanistan. Later, in 2001, those same warlords allied with the US-led coalition to topple the Taliban. After the terrible 9 September attacks that killed hundreds, it was Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar who refused to hand over bin Laden to the US.

“The people of Afghanistan share the pain of the American people, share the pain of the families and loved ones of those who died, who lost their lives in the tragedy of September 11,” said Karzai. “We commiserate with them (but) Afghan people are as many victims as those families who lost their lives. ... Withholding money or seizing money from the people of Afghanistan in their name is unjust and unfair and an atrocity against Afghan people.”

Last Friday, President Biden signed an order releasing $7 billion in Afghan assets held in the United States, which would be split between 9 September victims and humanitarian help to Afghans.

The Taliban and the $7 billion in the US banking system are being sued by 9 September victims and their relatives. The $3.5 billion has been set aside pending a decision by a US court on whether money may be used to satisfy claims by 9 September victims' families. Before any money for humanitarian aid could be released, it would have to be approved by US courts.

We "ask the U.S. courts to do the opposite, to return the Afghan money back to the Afghan people," said Karzai. "This money does not belong to any government ,,, this money belongs to the people of Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, Biden's order directs that the $3.5 billion set aside for humanitarian aid be placed in a trust and utilised to help Afghans rather than the Taliban.

Karzai, on the other hand, urged that the entire $7 billion be returned to Afghanistan's central bank to help the country's monetary policy. He claimed that international assistance organisations should not be given Afghan reserves in order to deliver humanitarian help.

"You give us our own money so that it can be spent for those foreigners who come here, to pay their salaries, to give it to (non-governmental organizations),” he said.

With the entry of the Taliban in mid-August, international money ceased flowing into Afghanistan, and the economy is on the verge of collapse. The United Nations issued a $5 billion appeal for Afghanistan last month. According to the United Nations, 1 million children are at risk of starvation, and 90% of Afghans survive on less than $1.90 a day.

After the Taliban were defeated by a US-led coalition in 2001, Karzai became Afghanistan's first freely elected president. He served until 2014, when Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Aug. 15, allowing the Taliban to take control of Kabul. Karzai was widely viewed as embracing all of Afghanistan's perse ethnic groups, although his administration, like successive Afghan administrations, was plagued by massive corruption allegations.

Karzai addressed a crowded press conference within his huge palace in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. In a second-floor conference room with more than a dozen television cameras, dozens of Afghan Pashto and Persian-language journalists jostled for space.

During the press conference, Karzai pressed the country's Taliban rulers and its opponents to find a way to work together. He advocated for the establishment of more representative governance through the traditional Afghan grand council or Loya jirga.

“We, as Afghans, and the current acting Islamic government must do our best to not give America or any other country any excuse to be against us,” he said.

Since the White House statement on Friday, anger has grown in Afghanistan. On Sunday, protesters marched again in Kabul, asking that the money be returned to Afghanistan. Those protesting near the city's Eid Gah mosque were dispersed by the Taliban, who have also criticised Biden's order.