The White House has decided not to allocate $7 billion to the Central Bank of Afghanistan and to stop negotiations with the Taliban for these funds following the recent assassination of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul.
A US official told the Wall Street Journal that President Joe Biden’s administration decided not to disclose any of the $7 billion worth of foreign assets the Afghan Central Bank held on US soil and suspended talks with the Taliban over the money following the assassination. Al-Zawahiri.
And the paper said “the decision reflects early signs of progress in U.S.-Taliban talks and strikes at hopes for economic recovery in Afghanistan, where millions of people face starvation after a year of the group’s rule,” noting that “A U.S. drone strike that was assassinated by al-Zawahiri late last month, exposed deep divisions within the movement and sparked Western fears of a resurgence of global terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States “has good reason to believe that members of the Taliban and the Haqqani network were aware of Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul.”
Earlier this year, the White House said it was considering releasing $3.5 billion of its $7 billion, keeping the rest in reserve to help settle possible lawsuits from relatives of 9/11 victims.
Source: Wall Street Journal.