PESHAWAR: The World Bank has ruled out resuming aid to Taliban-led Afghanistan, saying it could not even imagine working in a devastated economy.
According to the International media, World Bank Chief David Malpass told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that financial aid to Afghanistan had been suspended since the Taliban takeover on 15 August and that immediate recovery of the economy was unlikely. The World Bank chief added that the biggest obstacles to the resumption of aid are the uncertainty, poor economy, ineffective payment system and that the current Afghan government’s efforts to address the issues are “insufficient”.
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The World Bank said that so far no one has been able to devise a perfect solution of the Afghan economic crisis which is also an obstacle to the resumption of international financial support and release of frozen reserves. International powers, including the United States, has declined to recognise the Taliban government, saying that the Taliban can be recognised only if they fulfill the commitments and include all ethnic groups in the government and allow women to study and work in Afghanistan.
According to the World Bank’s website, the World Bank has provided more than $5.3 billion for dozens of development projects since 2002. However, After the Taliban government takeover, the United States and other financial institutions, including World Bank have confiscated $9.5 billion in reserves. The Taliban government has repeatedly demanded the restoration of frozen assets in Afghanistan’s foreign banks, claiming that if they get the reserves, Kabul wouldn’t be needed international financial support.
The Taliban officials told the international media that frozen assets belongs to Afghans and should immediately be returned. A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Economy Ahmad Wali Haqmal said, “It is illegal to freeze Afghan national assets. It is a violation of international law. We want our nation’s wealth back.”