“I ask all governments, especially Muslim countries, to start recognizing,” Akhund said, in his first appearance in the media since taking office in September.
Foreign powers are reluctant to acknowledge the Taliban administration that seized control of Afghanistan in August, while Western countries led by the United States have frozen billions of dollars in Afghan banking assets and suspended development financing, once the backbone of Afghanistan’s economy.
Akhund and other Taliban administration officials made a plea at the press conference, which was also attended by UN officials, for restrictions on transferring funds to Afghanistan to be eased, blaming the growing economic crisis on the freezing of funds.
He said, “Short-term aid is not the solution, we must try to find a way to solve the problems fundamentally.”
The international community has intensified humanitarian assistance aimed at meeting urgent needs, but at a time when the country is suffering from a cash crisis and the deteriorating economic situation during the harsh winter, millions of Afghans are falling into poverty.
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