US will not unfreeze Afghan assets citing terrorism fears

The US government has said it will not release Afghan government assets soon, due to fears the funds could end up in the hands of terrorists.

The State Department's special representative for Afghanistan said: "The Taliban's sheltering of al Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri reinforces deep concerns we have regarding diversion of funds to terrorist groups."

A National Security Council spokesperson said: "We have been engaged with foreign counterparts in efforts to support the establishment of an international trust fund with robust safeguards to enable the use of Afghan reserves for the benefit of the Afghan people given Afghanistan's ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis."

"We have made considerable progress and our focus right now is on supporting the establishment of this fund. The recent revelations of the Taliban's flagrant violation of the Doha agreement illustrate the importance of remaining clear-eyed in our dealings with the Taliban. Our approach to the future of these assets will continue to reflect that reality."

President Joe Biden signed an executive order about six months ago to allow the $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan's central bank to eventually be distributed inside the country and to potentially fund litigation brought by families of victims of the September 11 terror attacks. The funds were frozen by the US government last year after the Taliban took control of the country.

According to the state department, the government is still looking at ways to get the funds into Afghanistan effectively for the benefit of the Afghan people.

FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed concerns about the potential threat of the funds ending up with terrorists: "I'm worried about the possibility that we will see al Qaeda reconstitute."

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