‘Export, import close to halt due to banking curbs’

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): Businessmen in southern Kandahar province on Thursday the country’s banking system has been struggling from the past one months due to which their export and import has stopped.

The urged the US to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and let the Afghanistan Bank access to the amount.

Kandahar Chamber of Commerce Head Nasrullah Zaheer said after regime change the people of Afghanistan had been in deep trouble and facing different challenges.

He said funds freezed by the US belong to the people of Afghanistan not to the previous or existing government.

Zaheer said currently thousands of containers of Afghan businessmen loaded with food and other items stuck in Chaman and Karachi Port.

“Relevant authorities don’t allow Afghan businessmen to transfer their containers because businessmen did not offer complete payment,” he said.

Zaheer added export was also suffering because businessmen did not have cash to purchase export items.

He warned if the banking problems are not resolved Afghanistan will descend into deep economic crisis.

Another Kandahar Businessman Haji Mohammad Wali Hotak said Afghanistan suffered from harsh drought, then coronavirus and currently regime change.

He asked the world to release frozen Afghanistan assets and provide additional aid to the war-torn country.

Private banks representatives said in line with Da Afghanistan Bank policy they were entitled to offer $200 or 20,000 afs to individual account holders in a week.

Referring to business companies, he said it is decided that every company could get 20 percent of its all assets in the bank once in a week.

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