Taliban names acting head of central bank as economic turmoil grows

Afghanistan is facing a financial crunch after the US and IMF blocked Kabul’s access to foreign funds.

An Afghan day laborer waits for customers, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 22, 2021. (AP)

The Taliban have appointed an acting head
of the Afghanistan central bank to help ease growing economic
turmoil, more than a week after the Islamist movement seized the
capital Kabul, a statement said.

Haji Mohammad Idris was named as acting governor of the
central bank to help bring order to a war-crippled economy,
which has been adrift for more than a week with banks closed and
many government offices empty.

He was expected to help organise institutions and address
the economic issues facing the population, a statement from
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

READ MORE: US freezes poor Afghanistan’s assets after Taliban takeover

The appointment, which came as Iran resumed fuel exports to Afghanistan, comes amid increasingly acute economic problems,
with government workers unpaid, many businesses closed and
growing pressure on prices of staple goods including food and
household fuel.

The US has frozen Afghanistan assets – more than $9 billion – held at American banks, increasing the financial pressure on Taliban. 

IMF has also refused to release around $370 million to Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. 

READ MORE: Pressure mounts on Taliban to govern, pay salaries

With many senior officials and others associated with the
Western-backed government in hiding or exile, the Taliban have
been trying to persuade specialists and technical experts to
return to work to get the economy working again.

A senior Taliban official said Idris, from the northern
province of Jawzjan, had long experience working on financial
issues with the previous leader of the movement, Mullah Akhtar
Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike in 2016.

While he had no public profile outside the movement and no
formal financial training or higher education, he was head of
the movement’s finance section and respected for his expertise,
a senior Taliban leader said.

“There are many people who were unknown to the world but
they held key positions and had great contributions. Haji Idris
is among them,” he said.

“I believe he has not even studied religious studies but was
expert in financial matters,” he said.

READ MORE: Taliban sitting on untapped trove of minerals worth $1 trillion

Source: Reuters