KABUL (SW) – White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said no assets of the Da Afghanistan Bank would be paid to the families of 9/11 victims without a US court ruling.
The White House spokeswoman told reporters at a news conference that President Joe Biden’s decree on the central bank of Afghanistan’s assets was “a step in the right direction” and that no money would be paid until a court ruling was issued.
She added that Joe Biden’s move is an attempt to release and use part of these assets for the benefit of Afghan citizens, otherwise the assets would remain frozen and could not be transferred to Afghanistan.
The White House spokeswoman said family members and relatives of 9/11 victims had filed a lawsuit in federal court against Islamic Emirate officials as well, and in connection with more than $ 3.5 billion in assets, pending in the United States pending a court ruling.
But, she stressed that the purpose of Biden’s executive order is to provide some of these assets to Afghan citizens to use for humanitarian purposes as well.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Tuesday to demand the US pay war compensations to Afghanistan and not split the country’s state reserve funds.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Kabul to protest the recent decision by US President Joe Biden to confiscate part of the Da Afghanistan Bank’s assets. Protesters said the 9/11 attacks have nothing to do with the Afghan people.
The protesters called on the Biden government to release Afghanistan’s state assets completely and unconditionally. They added that the 9/11 attacks had nothing to do with the Afghan people and that the country’s assets should not be given to the survivors of the victims.
Protesters also demanded compensation from the United States for victims of the war in Afghanistan.
“Joe Biden! “Stop the enmity with the people of Afghanistan.” “The United States and its allies must compensate for the killing of thousands of Afghans and the destruction of Afghanistan,”were among some of the slogans of the protesters.
A few days ago, the US President allocated $ 3.5 billion in compensation to the relatives of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, just days before the $ 7 billion in reserves of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, which was held in that country and closed after the Islamic Emirate came to power.
In addition to Kabul, demonstrations also staged protests against Biden’s recent decision in other provinces such as Nangarhar, Kunar, Kunduz, Logar and Maidan Wardak.
The US President Joe Biden’s move to split Afghanistan’s state reserves worth some $ 7 billion has been widely condemned.
Last week, US President Joe Biden signed a decree freeing $ 7 billion of Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Under the decree, $ 3.5 billion is earmarked for humanitarian assistance and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and another $ 3.5 billion for compensation to the relatives of the victims of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
The US President’s decision has provoked national and international reactions.
In the first place, the Islamic Emirate criticized the issuance of this decree, calling it an inhumane decision. Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for its political bureau in Qatar, wrote on Twitter: “The theft and seizure of money blocked by the United States shows the lowest level of human and moral depravity of a country and a nation.”
Human Rights Watch also issued a statement calling the decision “problematic” for Afghanistan. The agency stressed that the frozen money belonged to Afghans and should be allocated to Afghan citizens.
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