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The Taliban banned foreign currencies as Afghanistan nears financial collapse with billions frozen overseas

A Taliban fighter
A Taliban fighter in Kabul in August 2021.Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
  • The Taliban banned the use of foreign currency in Afghanistan.

  • The country is on the brink of financial collapse since the group seized power.

  • The US has frozen almost $9.5 billion in assets that belong to Afghanistan's central bank.

The Taliban banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, which is on the brink of financial collapse after the group ousted the previous government.

The Taliban said, according to the BBC: "The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade."

While the country uses the Afghani currency, the US dollar is also widely used.

The United Nations has warned that millions of people could starve in Afghanistan, citing the Taliban takeover as a factor in the crisis.

Since the Taliban took power in August, it has been prevented from accessing financial assets held overseas.

The US in August froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets that belong to Afghanistan's central bank. Most of that money is held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The UN said in September that the assets should be unfrozen to avoid "a severe economic downturn."

An October report from The Times of London said that Taliban officials asked the US to unfreeze the assets in a face-to-face meeting, but did not make any headway.

"The issue has not reached any conclusion. There are deadlocks on the issues from both sides," an unnamed Taliban official told the newspaper.

The International Monetary Fund said Afghanistan can't access its resources anymore, and The World Bank announced it would no longer give funding to projects in the country.

Some parents in Afghanistan are selling their children out of desperation for money, according to multiple reports.

Read the original article on Business Insider