Afghanistan: Taliban's Sirajuddin Haqqani wants US to release $7 billion frozen funds

Maintaining that the Taliban government no longer awaits international recognition, the interior acting minister in Afghanistan Sirajuddin Haqqani, on Saturday, demanded that US President Joe Biden immediately unfreeze the $7 billion in Afghan central bank assets.

 “Did they achieve anything over the past 20 years?" Haqqani, a wanted Talibani terrorist on FBI's list in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed American, said during a speech on July 16, reported ANI.

Addressing the Afghans in the southern province of Khost, the now self appointed Talibani administrative official said that a so-called "inclusive government" will come into effect in his country now that “the western ideology” is eliminated from the soil of Afghanistan, Tolo quoted him as saying. Reminding about the sufferings of the Afghan population in his homeland, Haqqani demanded that US unfreezes Afghan assets.

"They [Americans] have frozen the Afghans’ assets and have taken revenge on a certain number of people. You fought against them for 20 years,” Haqqani said.

Taliban's official dismissed that his regime would even wait for "international recognition" adding that the self planted Taliban government will resort to "essential steps needed to be taken."

“We say don’t shout for an inclusive government desperately. Be patient. Once the ideology of paganism is eliminated and Afghans are adjusted to their national and Islamic identity, the inclusivity will be ensured itself,” Haqqani appeared to tell the Biden administration during the speech. "Afghanistan will not pose threat to any other countries, including neighbours," he stressed. “We don’t oppose Iran, China, Pakistan, or anyone else. We Afghans have given our test and we assure them there will be no threat from our side but we ask for a similar engagement,” he added. 

Taliban’s action contradicts its 'assurances': World leaders

In a joint statement issued earlier, the leaders of the world had condemned Taliban’s decision to restrict the education for girls and women in secondary schools, questioning the human rights abuses against the females in the country. “We are united in our condemnation of the Taliban’s decision to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to school. The Taliban’s action contradicted its public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community,” the world leaders iterated, also asking the regime linked with terrorism to form an all inclusive government.

If the Taliban failed to reverse its ideologies that restrict rights to women, this move will profoundly harm Afghanistan’s prospects for social cohesion and economic growth, its ambition to become a respected member in the community of nations, and the willingness of Afghans to return from overseas, the leaders had warned. It is to be noted that the US President Joe Biden in February had signed an executive order that would unfreeze the estimated 7 billion US dollars in worth out of more than 9 billion frozen Afghan assets. He had also split the assets into two, allocating part of it for humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and funding for 9/11 victims. It remains unclear if those funds have yet made to the Afghan popualtion.