Taliban urges US to show ‘mercy and compassion’ and release $10 billion of frozen funds

Taliban has urged the US and the West to show “compassion and compassion” by releasing $10 billion of the money confiscated by the group. Afghanistan,

Afghan Foreign Minister, speaking in a rare interview Aamir Khan | Muttaki said that this fund will help lakhs of citizens of the country who are in dire need.

She also claimed that Afghanistan’s new Taliban ruler was committed in principle to education and jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from her previous time in power that saw oppression and human rights abuses go down in history.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Muttaki said the new government wants good relations with all countries and has no problems with the United States.

He urged Washington and other countries to release the money that had accumulated after the Taliban came to power on August 15, following a rapid military sweep in Afghanistan and the sudden, covert flight of US-backed President Ashraf Ghani.

But despite insisting the Taliban have changed for the better, Muttaki’s comments point to a dire situation in Afghanistan – already one of the world’s poorest countries per capita before the group took control of the country.

“Sanctions against Afghanistan won’t help,” Muttaki said in his native Pashto, speaking in his native Pashto interview on Sunday at the massive yellow-brick foreign ministry building in the heart of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

“It is not in anyone’s interest to destabilize Afghanistan or have a weak Afghan government, whose allies include employees of the previous government as well as recruits from Taliban ranks,” Muttaki said.

Muttaki’s remarks are not the first time he has urged Afghanistan’s central bank to release the funds.

However, in October, Deputy United States Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a US Senate committee that he saw no situation in which the Taliban would be allowed access to the reserves.

Concerned nations have promised aid to the country, which made up a large part of its economy before the Taliban came to power, but many are reluctant to send money unless the Taliban agree to a more inclusive society. Don’t be

Meanwhile, reports from Afghanistan have told painful stories of parents being forced to sell their kids to survive, and drought forced people from their homes.

The United Nations has warned that more than half of Afghanistan’s population faces starvation this winter, a problem compounded by the fact that many aid agencies fled the country as the government fell and international aid dried up. Went.

International charity Save the Children has called on governments to immediately relax existing counter-terrorism and sanctions policies to provide life-saving humanitarian aid.

Since August, representatives of the group have worked to project a new image for the Taliban, claiming that has changed since its last brutal regime that ended in 2001. Its efforts have been met with skepticism from the international community.

Muttaki acknowledged the world’s outrage over the limits imposed by the Taliban on girls’ education and women in the workforce.

In many parts of Afghanistan, female high school students aged between seven and 12 have not been allowed to attend school since the Taliban came to power, and many female civil servants have been told to stay at home.

Taliban officials have said they need time to create gender-segregated systems in schools and workplaces that meet their serious interpretation of Islam.

When they first ruled from 1996-2001, the Taliban shocked the world by barring girls and women from schools and jobs, banning most entertainment and sports, and sometimes hanging in front of large crowds in sports stadiums.

But Muttaki said the Taliban had changed since that time.

‘We have made progress in administration and politics … in dialogue with the nation and the world. With each passing day we will gain more experience and make more progress,’ he said.

Muttaki said that under the new Taliban government, girls in 10 of the country’s 34 provinces are going to school up to class 12, private schools and universities are running non-stop and 100% of women who have previously worked in the health sector, They are back. Work.

“This shows that we are committed to women’s participation in principle,” she said.

He claimed the Taliban had not targeted their opponents, instead declaring a general amnesty and providing some protection.

Leaders of the previous government live in Kabul without any danger, he said, although the majority have fled the country since the takeover.

Last month, the international group Human Rights Watch published a report saying the Taliban summarily killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers in four provinces.

However, there have been no reports of mass retaliation.

Muttaki claimed that the Afghan government, which took power after the US-led coalition toppled the Taliban regime in 2001, launched widespread retaliatory attacks against the Taliban.

Hundreds disappeared or were killed, forcing thousands to flee to the mountains, he said. The Taliban were ousted to harbor al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Muttaki’s emphasis on poverty and dreams of a better life – fear not – inspired thousands of Afghans to fly to Kabul airport in mid-August in hopes of moving to other Western countries such as the US and Britain.

The crush of men produced sizzling images of men clinging to a departing American C-17 aircraft, while others fell to the ground as the wheels retracted.

He said the Taliban made mistakes in their first months in power and “we will work for more reforms that can benefit the nation.” He did not elaborate on the mistakes or possible fixes.

Muttaki pushed back against comments by US Marine General Frank McKenzie, who told the AP last week that the al-Qaeda extremist group has grown little inside Afghanistan since the departure of US forces in late August.

McKenzie is Washington’s top military commander in the Middle East.

In a February 2020 deal that spelled out the terms of a US troop withdrawal, the Taliban promised to fight terrorism and deny terrorist groups a safe haven.

Muttaki said on Sunday that the Taliban had kept that promise by pledging not to attack US and NATO forces during the final phase of withdrawal that ended in late August.

“Unfortunately, there are (always) allegations against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but there is no evidence,” Muttaki said. ‘If McKenzie has any proof, he should give it. I can say with confidence that this is a baseless allegation.

Meanwhile, Islamic State militants have intensified attacks on Taliban patrols and religious minorities over the past four months.

In Afghanistan, the IS-affiliated group has targeted Shia mosques in the provincial capital Kunduz and Kandahar and has repeatedly attacked Taliban vehicles.

Muttaki, however, said the Taliban had gained an edge in recent weeks, saying there had been no major attacks in the past month. Washington’s ability to track IS activities in Afghanistan has been disabled since the troop withdrawal.

Muttaki said he does not envision collaborating with the US in the fight against the Islamic State group.

However, he expressed hope that over time, “the US will slowly, gradually change its policy towards Afghanistan” as it sees evidence that the Taliban-ruled country is able to stand on its own which is an advantage for the US. Is.

‘My last words to America, to the American nation: You are a great and great nation and you must have enough patience and the courage to make policies on Afghanistan based on international rules and deportation and to end differences. Must have a big heart. And reduce the distance between us and choose good relations with Afghanistan.