Afghan acting foreign minister downplays economic crisis

Afghan Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi
speaks during an event held at the Institute of Strategic Studies, in Islamabad on May 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

KABUL – Afghan Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has downplayed the reports on the economic crisis, saying the economy of Afghanistan has been moving on the right track, reported the state-run Bakhtar News Agency on Sunday.

According to the state-controlled media outlet, Muttaqi made the remarks in a meeting with elders and ranking officials who returned home from Saudi Arabia after performing Hajj rituals.

Financial support to Afghanistan has drastically dropped and the banking system has been derailed due to US-imposed sanctions

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War-torn Afghanistan has been facing poverty and economic hardships since the withdrawal of foreign forces and the induction of the caretaker government nearly two years ago as the US froze more than $9 billion of assets of Afghanistan's central bank.

Financial support to Afghanistan has drastically dropped and the banking system has been derailed due to US-imposed sanctions, which eventually worsened the economic situation of the already bankrupt nation.

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More than 28 million or two-thirds of Afghanistan's population, according to aid agencies' reports, have been suffering from food insecurity.