US says Washington 'looking intensely' at ways to put more liquidity into Afghan economy

Amid economic turbulence in Afghanistan, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured the debt-ridden country of all possible help. He said that the Biden administration is looking at ways to put more liquidity into the Afghan economy. According to Blinken, Washington is trying to stabilise the cash flow in Kabul. "We are looking intensely at ways to put more liquidity into the Afghan economy to get more money into people's pockets. And doing that, with international institutions, with other countries and partners, trying to put in place the right mechanisms to do that in a way that doesn't directly benefit the Taliban but does go directly to the people," Blinken said during a press briefing. 

"We're very conscious of the fact that there is an incredibly difficult humanitarian situation right now, all it could get worse as winter sets in, and so that's an area of intense focus for us, working closely with allies and partners," Blinken said. Blinken boasted the commitments announced by US President Joe Biden after the dramatic collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government and said that the United States is currently providing the largest humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. "We've issued multiple general licenses to make sure that other countries' institutions can feel free to move forward with their assistance and not be concerned about the application implementation of sanctions against them. We've participated in the release of about $280 million recently in the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund," he said.

Public banks are facing a severe cash crunch

It is worth mentioning Afghanistan plunged into an economic crisis after the Taliban leaders ousted the democratically elected government and took charge of the already war-ravaged nation. Since then, the public banks are facing a severe cash crunch, resulting in capping on withdrawal limits. Notably, the United States froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank and stopped shipments of cash. The Taliban, on multiple occasions, appealed to the US government to release the funds, a request that the US continuously declined to entertain. It was part of a pressure campaign aimed at getting Afghanistan’s new rulers to respect the rights of women and minorities. Meanwhile, some economists said that if the banking system continues at this rate, the banks will not be able to provide services, which will negatively impact the country's economy,

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP