#AFGHANISTAN ECONOMIC FREEFALL. IT NEEDS SERIAL NUMBERS#
#AFGHANISTAN ECONOMIC FREEFALL. IT NEEDS FREE#

The UN chief said that injecting liquidity to prevent Afghanistan's economic collapse is a separate issue from recognition of the Taliban, lifting sanctions, unfreezing frozen assets or restoring international aid. Video 'They cannot hold the girls back,' Afghan women's rights activist says of Taliban rule 'Banks are closing and essential services, such as health care, have been suspended in many places.' 'Right now, with assets frozen and development aid paused, the economy is breaking down,' Guterres told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. The country is grappling with a liquidity crisis as assets remain frozen in the United States and other countries, and disbursements from international organizations have been put on hold. Guterres said the UN is urgently appealing to countries to inject cash into the Afghan economy, which before the Taliban takeover in August was dependent on international aid that accounted for 75 per cent of state spending. Secretary General Antonio Guterres also appealed to the Taliban to stop breaking its promises to allow women to work and girls to have access to all levels of education.Įighty per cent of Afghanistan's economy is informal, with women playing an overwhelming role, and 'without them there is no way the Afghan economy and society will recover,' he said. Leaning back in his chair, he took a worn-out 20-afghani note from his wallet.Warning that Afghanistan is facing 'a make-or-break moment,' the United Nations chief on Monday urged the world to prevent the country's economy from collapsing. It all adds up to a major headache for Abdul Qaher Faqiri, a Kabul-based businessman with projects involving importing goods and mining.

#AFGHANISTAN ECONOMIC FREEFALL. IT NEEDS FREE#

The statement said that, to rebuild confidence internationally, DAB needs to show it is free from political interference, has “appropriate” anti-money-laundering and terrorism-financing controls and submits to third-party assessment and monitors. This month, the State and Treasury departments issued a joint statement announcing the establishment of the Switzerland-based Afghan Fund, which “will protect, preserve, and make targeted disbursements” of half of the frozen reserves, using the $3.5 billion to stabilize the Afghan economy while keeping the money “out of the hands of the Taliban and other malign actors.” drone strike on a house in Kabul that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri in July, Washington paused discussions with DAB, Mehrabi said. In any case, talks are largely frozen for now: Following a U.S. dollars remain in demand in Afghanistan, although the local currency has not depreciated as much against the greenback as feared. “Who would deliver these afghanis to the central bank?” “But then we had logistical problems,” Mehrabi said.

State and Treasury departments resulted in assurances to the PWPW that it wouldn’t run afoul of proscriptions. But it was suspended when the interim Taliban administration came into power and sanctions were imposed,” Mehrabi said. “The last tranche was supposed to be delivered last September. By the time of the Taliban takeover, PWPW had fulfilled 70% of the contract, said Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, a Washington-based member of the Afghan central bank’s governing board who was appointed by the previous government but continues serving under the Taliban.

In January 2020, the then-Republic of Afghanistan had contracted the state-owned Polish Security Printing Works, or PWPW, to print 380 million banknotes equaling 10 billion afghanis for a contract worth more than $4 million. “That one even the central bank won’t take,” he said, shaking his head before putting it up to the sun for a closer look.Īfghanistan has become a cash-only society because of international sanctions, but much of the local currency is falling apart.

#AFGHANISTAN ECONOMIC FREEFALL. IT NEEDS SERIAL NUMBERS#

A third wasn’t much better, the victim of a bad cut-and-paste job that left its color scheme - and serial numbers - mismatched. Another looked more Scotch tape than bill. “Out of every 10,000 afghani bills here, maybe 1,000 of those bills are still OK to use,” he said, pointing to a 100-afghani note faded to the point that one side seemed plain. In a country so sanctioned that much of its own cash is out of reach, he sat cross-legged in a corner of Kabul’s main foreign-exchange market, sifting through a pile of what looked like paper trash but was actually a disaster area of distressed afghanis, Afghanistan’s currency. Remember cash? These days, when a wand-like wave of a phone or credit card gets you a cup of coffee or more, it’s easy to forget what actual bills look like - and the abuse they receive in an average five-year life span.

Afghanistan economic freefall. it needs