Former Afghan Finance Minister Kaylid Payenda denounced the U.S. taking over the Afghanistan central bank funds, frozen until now in U.S. financial institutions, as “outrageous.” As he was participating in a pre-scheduled Wilson Center forum this morning, within minutes of the announcement of President Biden’s Executive Order on the funds, Payenda interrupted the flow of the dialogue to denounce the U.S. action, as a blow to the economic existence of the Afghan nation.
Payenda responded to a question put to the panel about whether the U.S. should be playing a more important leadership role right now in coming to the support of Afghanistan. He said,"It is outrageous what the decision on the reserves is by the U.S. And unfortunately, if what the decision says comes true, this is the single most, biggest blow that you can deliver to the Afghan economy. The afghani (currency) would be worth less than a dirty, old piece of paper, when you don’t have the assets that back it up. You know, even if it’s locked, for years, for decades, that would still be better, because that’s what the main purpose of it is, the currencies being backed up. I think of such blunders—for the U.S. to show global leadership?—unfortunately, we see blunder after blunder. How would the Ukrainians feel about U.S. support right now, when they see the plight of Afghans?”
He added at another point that, ignoring Afghanistan this way will have bad consequences. “What sort of ally is the United States … as it will be perceived in the future?” There is a “moral obligation” here for the United States and Congress. “For the U.S. to show leadership, they have to take responsibility morally and ethically.” It is right to do what is “in the long-term interest, not just in the region, but globally.…” (https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/hindsight-front-how-avert-economic-collapse-afghanistan)
