President Biden’s administration is reportedly pushing ahead with talks to release billions in frozen assets in Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s refusal to cooperate. The US and other nations have frozen billions of dollars worth of foreign assets belonging to Afghanistan’s now-defunct government after the Taliban took over the country in 2021. The Biden administration continues to work with Taliban officials despite harboring senior figures from the Leader terror group of al Qaeda in Kabul, Reuters reported on Monday. The Biden administration and the United Nations are working to free up the funds in an effort to stabilize the Afghan economy, which has collapsed under Taliban rule and Western sanctions. Aid organizations have warned that the Afghan people could face starvation in the coming winter. The US is seeking to avoid sending funds directly to the Taliban by creating a Swiss trust fund that will control the funds and distribute them for humanitarian needs. The nonprofits warned earlier this year that much of the US aid to Afghanistan was going directly to the Taliban. US FREES $780 MILLION IN AID TO AFGHANISTAN President Biden delivers remarks about recent mass shootings from the White House on June 2, 2022 in Washington, DC (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Taliban fighters hold their weapons as they celebrate one year since they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 15. (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi) AFGHANISTAN PROBLEM ‘HERE TO STAY’, TOP 2022 CONFLICTS ON WATCH LIST: FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTS The new push to give funding to Afghanistan comes weeks after a US drone strike killed top al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in Kabul, the Afghan capital. The Taliban denied knowing al-Zawahri was holed up in the city. The al-Qaeda chief was inside a house owned by an aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, a top deputy to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatala Akhundzada. He had reportedly been at home for months at the time of the strike. The US drone strike hit al-Zawahri as he stepped onto the balcony of the home on August 1. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, Taliban leaders condemned the attack as a violation of the Doha Agreement between the Islamic terrorist group and the US. Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
