Taleban Urges US to Release $9 Billion Frozen Assets

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Taliban, the ruling power in Afghanistan, has requested the United States to release the frozen assets of their country.

On the 17th, according to Afghan media and foreign news agencies, Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban government, stated this in an open letter sent to the U.S. Congress.

Acting Minister Muttaqi emphasized that the fundamental challenge currently facing the Afghan people is financial security, saying, "The root of this concern lies in the U.S. government's freezing of our people's assets."

Acting Minister Muttaqi expressed concern that if the current situation spreads, it will lead to a large-scale refugee crisis and cause damage to the health and education sectors.

Earlier, in August, when the Taliban began to take control of Afghanistan, the United States made an emergency decision to halt the transportation of U.S. dollars to Afghanistan.

Additionally, assets deposited by the Afghan central bank at the U.S. Federal Reserve and other institutions were also frozen. The Afghan government's overseas assets are known to exceed $9 billion (approximately 10.6 trillion KRW), of which $7 billion (approximately 8.3 trillion KRW) are held in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.