Biden to unfreeze $7 billion in Afghan assets

About 90 percent of Afghans live on less than $1.90 a day, with nearly 23 million people, or about half the population, facing starvation, according to the United Nations. Employees of the Taliban are barely being paid, while doctors, teachers, and others have not been paid in months. The United States and other countries froze about $9 billion in assets after the Taliban takeover in August, but President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday to release what the U.S. holds. The $7 billion will be split between humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan and a fund for victims of the 9/11 terror attacks. The funds for humanitarian efforts will be kept “separate and distinct” from the $308 million in aid the U.S. promised in January.

Will the Taliban get any of the money? Biden’s order calls for banks to provide $3.5 billion of the frozen amount to a trust fund for distribution through humanitarian groups for Afghan relief and basic needs. Banks have restricted individual withdrawals to $200 in Afghanis per week. Many are concerned about an economic collapse.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on what life is like under the Taliban.