Why Afghanistan’s Reserves Remain Stuck in Switzerland: Key Points.

Why Afghanistan’s Reserves Remain Stuck in Switzerland: Key Points.

1. Frozen Afghan State Assets in Switzerland

Approximately $3.9 billion in Afghan reserves are held in a Geneva-based trust, known as the Afghan Fund.

These assets, equivalent to a quarter of Afghanistan’s GDP, remain inaccessible since the fund's creation in 2022.

The fund was established to provide humanitarian support without granting the Taliban access.

2. Impact on Afghanistan’s Economy

The freezing of central bank assets has severely restricted Afghanistan’s financial system.

Commercial banks lack liquidity, leading to a cash shortage that crippled public services and economic activity.

The central bank’s inability to function normally affects price stability, currency exchange rates, and investor confidence.

3. Political and Legal Roadblocks

U.S. President Joe Biden froze $7 billion of Afghan assets in 2021, half allocated for potential compensation for 9/11 victims.

The fund requires unanimous decisions by a board of trustees, which includes Afghan experts, a U.S. Treasury official, and a Swiss diplomat.

Neither the U.S. nor other nations recognize the Taliban, complicating decisions on asset management and use.

4. Taliban’s Role and International Relations

The Taliban appointed sanctioned officials to lead Afghanistan’s central bank, obstructing progress toward releasing funds.

The Taliban’s repression of women and girls has drawn international condemnation, further isolating the regime.

Masuda Sultan, founder of Unfreeze Afghanistan, argues for engagement over isolation to reduce civilian suffering.

5. Humanitarian Crisis Worsened by Funding Shortages

Humanitarian donors have reduced aid as global focus shifts to other crises.

A funding shortfall led the World Food Programme to cut assistance, impacting millions.

The World Bank warned in 2023 that reduced cash shipments would significantly harm the Afghan economy and lead to desperate survival measures, including child marriages.

6. Efforts to Unblock Funds

Afghan business leaders and civil society proposed using Switzerland-held reserves to recapitalize the central bank with international oversight.

Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, an Afghan Fund board member, suggests controlled, monitored releases to stabilize the economy.

Technical training for central bank staff is hindered by Taliban isolation and political disputes.

7. Ongoing Political Impasse

Without political resolution and Taliban reforms, the frozen assets remain out of reach.

Mehrabi emphasizes compliance concerns related to terrorism and money laundering.

Sultan highlights that addressing political issues is crucial to making the funds available for economic relief.

8. Conclusion: Engagement vs. Isolation

The core debate remains between engaging with the Taliban to mitigate suffering or continuing isolation that prolongs the economic crisis.

Despite technical readiness for disbursements, political deadlock prevents the Afghan Fund from fulfilling its mandate.

Source:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/why-afghanistans-reserves-are-stuck-in-switzerland/88698920

Comments

Return to the Killing Fields: When Arab Silence Becomes Complicity

In March 2025 , a flicker of hope broke through Gaza’s smoke-choked skies . Seventeen Palestinian children— each a living testimony to horror —were evacuated from the rubble of their homes and transported to Jordan for medical care. Some arrived with legs blown off at the thigh , tiny bodies bandaged like mummies. One boy, no older than ten , had both arms amputated and his face marked by deep burns —his eyes wide with trauma , silently screaming for comfort . A girl, barely breathing , had shrapnel embedded near her spine and could only speak in whispers —if at all. They came on stretchers , barely conscious , wrapped not in blankets but in sorrow . Their mothers were left behind, many buried under collapsed buildings or lost in the chaos of airstrikes. These children were not just patients— they were war’s rawest wounds, symbols of a people being systematically erased. And then, the unthinkable happened. These same children —these shattered, fragile souls—have now be...

She Stitched Wounds With Empty Hands—And Lost All Nine of Her Children

In Gaza, where the sun rises over ash and broken concrete, where lullabies are drowned by the sound of drones, lived a woman whose hands brought healing to children even as the world around her collapsed. Her name was Dr. Alaa — a pediatrician , a mother , a lifeline in the middle of hell. And she has become a symbol of both the highest form of love and the deepest human suffering. Nine children. All hers. All dead. Killed in a single Israeli airstrike. Not soldiers . Not fighters . Just children — tucked beneath blankets, seeking safety that never came. She was saving children in the hospital when her entire world was bombed out of existence. “ Mama, when will this end?” Her youngest had asked her this just days before the strike . He was five . He used to draw little suns on the wall with crayons , yellow and smiling — a child who believed light could still live here. One of the child of Dr. Alaa. Dr. Alaa hadn’t answered. Because she didn’t know. She hadn’t...

When Two Lives Matter More Than Seventy – A Night of Massacres in Gaza

When Two Lives Matter More Than Seventy On the same night that the world’s media was awash with breaking news about the tragic killing of two foreign diplomats in Washington D.C. by an American citizen—a horrific incident that drew immediate outrage, blanket media coverage, and solemn condemnations from every major capital— something else happened . In Gaza, 70 Palestinians were killed . Seventy human beings. Mothers, fathers, babies in their mother’s arms, and children huddled in fear inside a school they believed would protect them. The Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in Gaza’s Al-Daraj neighborhood was struck by Israeli warplanes. At least 36 displaced people were massacred , their bodies pulled from under the rubble, their lives extinguished without a moment’s pause. And yet, as the world grieves two diplomats, it forgets seventy Palestinians in a single night. Mainstream outlets offered wall-to-wall coverage of the Washington incident: live updates, expert panels, somber editorials....

The Awakening of the Willfully Asleep: Western Media’s Sudden Gaza Epiphany

After nearly nineteen months of Israeli war crimes in Gaza—flattened hospitals, mass graves of children, obliterated families—the Western editorial boards have suddenly found their voices . Not journalists, not lone columnists, but the actual institutions . Congratulations to The Guardian , The Economist , Financial Times , and The Independent : the horror finally got too loud to ignore . Or maybe the PR risk finally outweighed the political obedience. Let’s be very clear: this isn’t conscience speaking —this is survival instinct . These media giants aren't waking up because of a sudden moral revelation ; they’re waking up because they smell something worse coming. Something catastrophic enough that silence will no longer offer plausible deniability. They know their blatant neutrality , their brutal silence , and their thinly veiled complicity will soon look monstrous under the light of historical reckoning . They're not opposing genocide because it shocks them . They’re...

Trump’s Gaza Plan and the Arab Autocrats: Displacement, Deals, and Betrayal

The Trump administration’s reported plan to forcibly relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya or Syria is more than a policy proposal—it is a geopolitical earthquake. It signals a dangerous shift toward normalizing permanent ethnic displacement under the guise of reconstruction. 1. What Is Trump’s Gaza “Solution”? Mass Deportation : Trump argues that Gaza is no longer livable and suggests relocating its population permanently—starting with Libya and possibly post-Assad Syria. Bribing the Host : Libya would receive access to billions in frozen funds in exchange for hosting Palestinians. Buying Consent : Trump suggests offering Palestinians housing and stipends to “incentivize” their exile. Fantasy Development : He wants to rebuild Gaza as the “Riviera of the Middle East”—without its native population. This plan, if implemented, would be a modern-day Nakba , violating international law and the principle of the right to return. 2. Why Are Arab Autocracies Qu...

Ainnbeen

Search This Blog