Pak, China, and 5 other nations urge West to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets

According to Uzbek special representative Ismatilla Ergashev, the group has urged Western nations to lift the freeze on the Afghan central bank’s assets.

“The representatives of these countries emphasised that the return of the money of the Central Bank of Afghanistan should be used primarily to pay the salaries of… school teachers and doctors, and at the same time to support the part of the population which is in a difficult situation,”Ismatilla Ergashev added.

He further added, “They also emphasised that nearly 25 million people in Afghanistan are starving and deprived of food.”

In a recent report from Khaama Press, the Taliban representatives were not present at the meeting. While several neighbouring countries have handed over their Afghan embassies to Taliban diplomats, the group has not been invited to participate in regional-level meetings like the one held in Tashkent.

Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said, “All meetings held for cooperation and assistance with Afghanistan in the field of humanitarian issues, and for strengthening the government, and in all other areas which are effective for the country”, Tolo news reported.

Neighboring countries of Afghanistan have been calling on the Islamic Emirate authorities to respect human rights and lift the restrictions on women and girls attending education. They have also urged the new regime to form an all-inclusive government that represents all of the people of Afghanistan.

Walif Frozan, an international relations analyst noted, “In such regional competition, Afghanistan is used as a strategic location and every country tries to take advantage of it for its side.”

It has been reported that following the Taliban’s takeover of the Afghan government in 2021, the United States froze approximately $7 billion in central bank assets. Additionally, around $2 billion of Afghan assets were also frozen in European banks.