'Situation in Afghanistan critical as frozen assets may lead to 1.5 million unemployed'
Jan 20, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 20 : Afghan industrialists have urged the international community to unfreeze Afghan funds as if immediate financial help is not provided to the country then it will lead to the closure of factories making 1.5 million people unemployed in the troubled country, local media reported on Thursday.
Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and needs immediate financial help who are facing acute hunger combined with a severe drought and the coronavirus pandemic.
Head of the Chamber of Mines and Industries of Afghanistan Sherbaz Kaminzada said that factories in the country which are on the brink of collapse will completely close if the assets of Afghanistan do not get unfrozen, Khaama Press reported.
Kaminzada said that Afghanistan had an unreal and fragile economy during the past twenty years and asked the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and the International Community to cooperate with Afghan industrialists for the growth of the economy, Khaama Press reported.
Millions of Afghans are currently jobless, and their bank accounts are frozen.
He warned that lack of cash and the restrictions on the banking system that has made difficult procurement of raw material will leave 1.5 million people out of jobs, over 500,000 of them women.
Kaminzada expressed the remarks in his meeting with the UN Secretary-General's special representative to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons on the sideline of the Economic Conference in Kabul on Wednesday.
"Hundreds of factories in Afghanistan do not have the raw material that has directly affected the workers, investors, and common people," Kaminzada said.
Meanwhile, the special representative assured Afghan industrialists of raising their voice and will return from the UN headquarter with positive outcomes.
Following the Taliban takeover in mid-August, the US froze nearly 10 billion dollars in Afghanistan's assets and slapped sanctions on the Islamic Emirate.
In the meantime, the stoppage of foreign aid to Afghanistan has crippled the already fragile economic system of Afghanistan and has adversely affected the lives of millions of people.
