Taliban Calls on US to Release Afghan Assets

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, claimed that the United States' continuing blockade of Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves is equivalent to hurting the Afghan people.

"Continuing to keep sanctions on Afghanistan is not the protection of human rights, but the punishment of the common people," Suhail Shaheen stated in a tweet on Wednesday.

"I draw, to this, attention of all including advocates of human rights," he added.

On Tuesday, a large number of Kabul residents protested in the capital, expressing their displeasure with the prolonged blockade of Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves and economic assets.

Protesters demanded that the US release Afghan funds in order to sustain their country's economy.

They claimed that the continuing confiscation of Afghan assets is the main cause of the country's humanitarian disaster.

The protest took place as the US and other Western countries continue to freeze more than $ 9.5 billion in Afghan assets and deny the Taliban access to them following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.