The Afghan government on Saturday called on international governments to roll back sanctions and lift a freeze on Afghan central bank assets following an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people and left thousands homeless.
The magnitude 6.1 quake, which struck the east of the country early on Wednesday, destroyed or damaged 10,000 homes and injured about 2,000 people, straining the country’s fragile health system and posing a major test for the Taliban administration.
“The Islamic Emirate is asking the world to give the Afghans their most basic right, which is their right to life and that is through lifting the sanctions and unfreezing our assets and also giving assistance,” Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi told Reuters in an interview.
Photo: AP
While humanitarian aid continues to flow to Afghanistan, funds needed for longer-term development were halted when the Taliban in August last year seized control of the country as foreign forces withdrew.
The Taliban administration is not formally recognized by international governments.
Billions of US dollars in central bank reserves remain frozen overseas, and sanctions hamper Afghanistan’s banking sector as the West pushes for concessions on human rights.
Western governments are particularly concerned about the rights of women and girls to work and study under Taliban rule.
In March, the group stopped high schools for girls from opening.
Asked about the issue, Balkhi said Afghans’ right to life-saving funds should be the priority, adding that the international community handled concerns over human rights differently depending on the country involved.
“Is this rule universal? Because the United States just passed an anti-abortion law,” Balkhi said, referring to the US Supreme Court on Friday overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s right to an abortion.
“Sixteen countries in the world have taken away the rights of religious minorities, especially Muslims... Are they also facing sanctions?” he asked.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Washington was working on “complicated questions about the use of these [frozen central bank] funds to ensure they benefit the people of Afghanistan and not the Taliban.”
She added that the US Agency for International Development was providing assistance with humanitarian organizations.
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