Sept. 11 victims to get share of frozen assets

President Joe Biden began clearing a pathway Friday for releasing about $3.5 billion of frozen Afghan assets held in the United States to be used for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, while an equal amount would go to relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks.

The maneuvers, included in executive orders that Biden signed Friday, attempt to grapple with the financial implications related to Biden’s decision to end a 20-year war in Afghanistan. When the Taliban toppled the Afghanistan government last summer, it left uncertainty around Afghan Central Bank funds remaining in the United States.

The White House said in a statement that the move “is designed to provide a path for the funds to reach the people of Afghanistan, while keeping them out of the hands of the Taliban and malicious actors.”

The Biden administration in August froze about $7 billion in Afghan government assets held at the New York Federal Reserve, blocking the Taliban from accessing the money.

The administration has been under pressure from humanitarian organizations to release the funds. The United Nations has estimated that the majority of Afghanistan’s 40 million people will suffer severe hunger this winter.

The Afghan reserves were frozen, along with foreign aid that had provided up to 75% of funding to the government ousted by the Taliban. No country has recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government, and the international community has withheld the funding until the militant regime fulfills promises to preserve human and civil rights, including for minorities, women and girls.

MARK LENNIHAN AP On Sept. 11, 2001, near the skeleton of the World Trade Center, New York City firefighters work amid debris. The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan had sheltered the al-Qaida terror network, which conducted the attacks.