“This is their money, not ours,” they wrote in a letter about billions of dollars frozen by Washington
Families whose loved one was killed by 9/11 terrorist attacks have asked President Joe Biden for protection of billions in Afghan funds that were frozen by the US. This will prevent them from using the money to pay damages to the Taliban.
“Any use of the $7 billion to pay off 9/11 family member judgments is legally suspect and morally wrong,”In a written statement sent Tuesday to the White House, they stated that. Some of the signatories have filed for compensation, but don’t want to be awarded money they believe “belongs to the Afghan people and the Afghan people alone.”Politico reported the contents of this correspondence as the first media outlet.
The funds are owned by Afghanistan’s central bank and were seized by the US when the Washington-backed government in Kabul collapsed in August last year, while Taliban forces were advancing on the capital. Biden in February signed an executive to protect half of $7 billion against legal claims.
The White House stated that it will be exploring how to use the funds for Afghan citizens and prevent it from being used by terrorists. “the Taliban and malicious actors.”Biden is asked to change his order in the letter, which will ensure that all sums are protected for this purpose.
“Victims of terrorism, including 9/11 victims, are entitled to their day in court. But they are not entitled to money that lawfully belongs to the Afghan people,”You said it.
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Nearly two decades ago, 150 relatives of the 9/11 victims sued Al-Qaeda and Taliban. They were awarded $7 billion damages after many years of court proceedings. A part of the community thinks that because the Taliban has returned to power in Afghanistan, US-seized Afghan funds should be used by the militant group to pay the claims.
“The Afghans had every opportunity to fight back against the Taliban,”In February, Brett Eagleson spoke out on behalf of the claimants who are looking at the assets that have been frozen and told Politico. “I don’t see how they can claim it as their money.”
Afghanistan faces an economic crisis that could lead to famine and further complicates the debate about how money should be spent. According to UN, 95% of Afghanistan’s population is not receiving enough food.
Some humanitarian groups say concerns about aid getting into the Taliban’s hands are misplaced, since they operated successfully for years in Taliban-controlled parts of Afghanistan while the government in Kabul was allied with the US.
