THE US is responsible for current serious state of affairs in Afghanistan and its shameful and unjust act the other day of deciding on its own the usage of Afghan frozen reserves of $7b will further deepen the economic and humanitarian crisis in the war torn country.
According to the executive order signed by President Joe Biden the other day, these reserves will be equally divided between American victims of terrorism including relatives of 9/11 and the humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan to be carried out through the United Nations.
The decision once again gives the impression that Americans want to punish the poor Afghan people for defeat and embarrassment they faced in Afghanistan.
The Afghan reserves belong to Afghan people and as also stated by our Foreign Office utilisation of these funds should be the sovereign decision of Afghanistan.
First, Americans killed the Afghan people by testing their latest equipment on them and now by allocating their amount to victims of 9/11, they apparently want to let them die because of poverty and hunger.
Is this the justice and high moral standards they talk about? We have repeatedly been stating in these columns that Washington should stop releasing reports on human rights record of other countries till it also respects the same.
The situation in Afghanistan is dire as millions of people including children are faced with food shortages and if the aid does not reach them, they will die of hunger.
This will be the biggest man made crisis and descend Afghanistan into chaos and anarchy.
Usurping their money at this stage amounts to cruelty.If the US wants to compensate victims of 9/11 through Afghan money, then it should also come forward to compensate those whose dear and near ones lost their lives as well as those who got disabled in American bombings.
The Afghan people are also protesting the US decision with its central bank saying they will not accept if their foreign exchange reserves are paid in the name of compensation or humanitarian assistance to others.
If the US really believes in humanity, it must immediately withdraw the decision.
For the sake of Afghan people, it must release foreign reserves to the interim Afghan government so that they could better manage the economy and run daily affairs smoothly.
Rather an aid package should be announced for Afghanistan so that humanitarian catastrophe could be averted there.
