WASHINGTON: The World Bank has suspended aid to Afghanistan, saying it is “deeply concerned” about the situation there after the Taliban seized power and especially the prospects for women, a bank spokesperson told the Media.
“We have paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation,” the official said. The World Bank has more than two dozen development projects ongoing in the country and has provided $5.3 billion since 2002, mostly in grants, according to the bank’s website.
Meanwhile, on 18th of August, 2021 the IMF too has proclaimed that it would also withhold funds to Afghanistan amid the uncertainty over the status of the leadership in Kabul. The move comes after the US government took steps to block Afghanistan’s assets held in US accounts following the swift Taliban takeover of the country over the weekend. “There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a consequence of which the country cannot access… IMF resources,” the official said. That would include an existing US $ 370 million loan program, as well as access to reserves in the form of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the IMF’s basket of currencies.
“As is always the case, the IMF is guided by the views of the international community,” the fund official said. The IMF has taken similar action before when a critical mass of member nations fail to recognize a country’s government, as in the case of Venezuela. Next week the IMF is set to distribute US $ 650 billion to all eligible members, of which Afghanistan’s share was valued at about US $ 340 million. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s top general defended on Wednesday (18th of August, 2021) the United States military’s response to the Taliban’s breakneck seizure of power in Afghanistan, saying no one foresaw the collapse of US-trained Afghan forces that fast.
“There was nothing that I, or anyone else, saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days,” US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said. “The Afghan security forces had the capacity, and by that I mean they had the training, the size, the capability, to defend their country. This comes down to an issue of will and leadership,” he added.Douglas London, the CIA’s former counter-terrorism chief for South Asia and then an advisor to Biden’s presidential campaign, said United States intelligence had predicted the Taliban would defeat Afghan forces and that it was possible the government would capitulate within days.
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