WASHINGTON (HRNW) — President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order on Friday to split the $7 billion in Afghan assets frozen in the U.S. to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan and compensate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision.
The order will require U.S. financial institutions to facilitate access to $3.5 billion for Afghan relief and basic needs. The other $3.5 billion would remain in the United States and be used to fund ongoing litigation by U.S. victims of terrorism, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not been formally announced.
International funding to Afghanistan was suspended and billions of dollars of the country’s assets abroad, mostly in the United States, were frozen after the Taliban took control of the country in August as the U.S. military withdrew.
Afghanistan’s long-troubled economy has been in a tailspin since the Taliban takeover. Nearly 80% of the previous Afghan government’s budget came from the international community.
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