The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday that it was suspending lending to Afghanistan due to uncertainty over the country’s governance following its occupation by the Taliban.
“As always, the IMF is guided by the views of the international community,” a spokeswoman told AFP.
“At the moment there is a lack of clarity in the international community regarding the recognition of the government of Afghanistan, as a result the country will not be able to access the SDRs or other IMF resources,” the spokeswoman added. of the 190-member Washington International Financial Institution.
The IMF would normally disburse the last tranche of the $ 370 million lending program agreed on November 6, 2020. The second tranche, worth $ 149.4 million, was issued in June. About $ 105.6 million remained under the credit program to support the Afghan economy, which was being tested beyond the war by the new coronavirus pandemic.
Washington’s other financial institution, the World Bank, which has been involved in about 20 development projects in Afghanistan and has provided some $ 5.3 billion since 2002, is unclear whether it will continue. It is currently withdrawing its staff in a hurry.
US freezes Afghan foreign exchange reserves
The US government and the US Federal Reserve (Fed for short) have frozen Afghanistan’s multibillion-dollar foreign exchange reserves, according to US media reports.
The move is aimed at preventing the Taliban, who have seized power in Afghanistan, from gaining access to those resources, according to informed sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Washington Post.
The governor of the Afghan Central Bank, Azmal Ahmadi, who left the country after the Taliban came to power, said via Twitter yesterday that the Fed has most of Afghanistan’s $ 7 billion foreign exchange reserve.
About $ 2 billion is invested elsewhere, according to Ahmadi.
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“Given that the Taliban are on international sanctions lists, it is expected (…) that the country’s resources will be frozen and it will not have access to the Islamist movement,” the central banker added.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the government of President Joe Biden decided to cancel the transfer of large sums of cash to Afghanistan last week as the Taliban approached Kabul.
Citing informed sources, the newspaper also wrote that the US is blocking the Taliban from accessing Afghan government accounts to the Fed and other US banks and is trying to prevent the movement from gaining access to the $ 500 million it could receive from the country. the International Monetary Fund.
“No US central bank resource in the US will be available to the Taliban,” a Biden government official told the Journal.
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