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Afghan Acting Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund called on Islamic countries to be the first to officially recognize the Afghan government, while Washington affirmed its commitment to search for solutions to alleviate humanitarian challenges while preventing the flow of funds to illegal activities.
“I call on Islamic countries to take the initiative and officially recognize us, and then I hope we can develop quickly,” Akhund said.
This came at an economic conference in Kabul today, Wednesday, attended by officials from the United Nations, and discussed easing restrictions imposed on transferring funds to Afghanistan.
No country has yet recognized the interim government of the Taliban, which seized power last August, but the West faces the delicate task of trying to deliver humanitarian aid, knowing that many members of the Afghan interim government are on the international sanctions list.
Radical solution
Speaking about recognizing his government, Akhund said, “We don’t want help from anyone, we don’t want it for the officials, but for the public,” adding that the Taliban fulfilled all its basic obligations by restoring peace and security.
Western countries, led by the United States, have frozen billions of dollars in Afghan banking assets and halted development financing that once formed the backbone of Afghanistan’s economy.
Akhund believed that “short-term aid is not the solution, we must try to find a way to solve the problems radically.”
In turn, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki said that the Taliban government seeks to establish economic links with the international community, adding that “humanitarian aid is a short-term solution to economic problems, but what is required to solve problems in the long term is the implementation of infrastructure projects.”
American commitment
For her part, the envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, said that the Afghan economic crisis is a serious problem that all countries must work to address.
Lyons added that “the United Nations is working to revive Afghanistan’s economy, and basically address the economic problems.”
In turn, a Treasury Department statement said that US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wali Adeemo met last night with executive directors of a number of non-governmental organizations working in Afghanistan, and discussed with them the urgent challenges facing the humanitarian sector and working to stabilize the Afghan economy.
The statement stressed that there are no comprehensive sanctions on Afghanistan or a ban on the export of goods or the transfer of funds to it, noting that Washington is working with international financial institutions and non-governmental organizations to introduce liquidity into Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes.
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