The United States and its allies may have left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban but they still have “leverage” to make the Islamist militants honour commitments to allow people out of the country, according to US President Joe Biden.
This was echoed by US officials and other Western leaders, who believe the Taliban can be pressured into abandoning their past violence and support for terrorism with carrot and stick measures given Afghanistan’s outsized dependence on imported energy, food and foreign aid – and its shaky economy.
Here are some of the most important levers the West has to press the Taliban into honouring women’s rights and cooperating with other countries:
BILLIONS IN GOLD, FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND SPECIAL RESERVES
The United States has an outsized role to play in deciding what happens to Afghanistan’s $9 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves. Of that, $7 billion is held in the United States, with $1.3 billion in other international accounts and some $700,000 by the Bank for International Settlements, the Afghan central bank governor tweeted after fleeing the country.
Washington quickly blocked After the Taliban takeover, the US government blocked the group from accessing any central bank assets held by the Afghan government by the New York Federal Reserve or elsewhere in the United States, an administration official said the Taliban from accessing any central bank assets held by the Afghan government by the New York Federal Reserve or elsewhere in the United States, and the assets remain frozen.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended Afghanistan’s access to IMF resources on Aug 18, including $440 million in new emergency reserves.
Washington is under pressure from some humanitarian groups, Afghan central bank officials and foreign governments, including Russia, to ease the freeze in assets and allow some dollar shipments, a move that would likely come with stiff conditions.
The Taliban is likely to turn to narcotics or weapons trafficking instead, a Russian official said on Monday.
