IMF blocks Afghanistan's access to emergency reserves post Taliban takeover

According to reports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that Afghanistan will be denied access to a USD 460 million emergency reserve because the Taliban's control of the country has cast doubt on the country's future. According to another report, the decision by the IMF was made in response to pressure from the Biden administration to guarantee that the reserves did not reach the Taliban. 

The Biden administration also froze around USD 9.5 billion in Afghan reserves on Tuesday to keep funds out of the hands of the Taliban after it took control of Afghanistan.

IMF blocks Afghanistan access to emergency reserves post Taliban takeover

According to a report, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and employees from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control decided to freeze the accounts. Any central bank assets held by the Afghan government in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban, according to a statement.

The US State Department and the White House were reportedly consulted for this decision, and the Biden administration was also considering other actions to put more pressure on the Taliban.

Taliban in talks to discuss future government plans 

On Sunday, the terror group grabbed control of Afghanistan after storming into the presidential palace in Kabul. The Taliban leaders are meeting in Doha to discuss future government plans and are in contact with the international world and intra-Afghan parties to form an Afghan government. To protect their people, governments have been hurrying to remove their citizens from Afghanistan.

Response by United Nations and the United States

The United Nations has called on countries to stop all forcible returns of Afghan refugees, and it has announced that a third of its international staff would be temporarily relocated to Kabul owing to the "volatile situation in the country". President Joe Biden stated on Wednesday that he is committed to retaining American forces in Afghanistan until every American has been evacuated, even if it means staying over the deadline of August 31. He also pushed back against claims that the US should have done more to prepare for the evacuation and withdrawal, which was marked by violence and chaos as hundreds attempted to evacuate as the Taliban advanced.

(With inputs from ANI)

(IMAGE: AP)