IMF warns of ‘looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said it was deeply concerned with the economic situation facing Afghanistan and warned of a looming humanitarian crisis facing the country after last month’s takeover by the Islamic Emirate.

Addressing a press conference in Washington DC on Thursday, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice stated that the global lender’s engagement with Afghanistan remains suspended, which means IMF funding is on hold.

He said the immediate focus should be on helping the Afghan people by allowing the flow of remittances and small-scale transfers and providing aid to countries hosting Afghan refugees.

“Our engagement with Afghanistan has been suspended until there is clarity within the international community on the recognition of the government. We’re guided by the international community in terms of the recognition of the government in Afghanistan, and we don’t have that. So, the IMF program there, which you asked about, has been put on hold,” Rice said.

He noted “as we said last month, the country cannot access IMF resources, SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) and so on at this point. But again, I want to say that we stand ready to work with the international community to advocate for urgent actions to stall a looming humanitarian crisis.”

This comes as the United States has frozen some 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in assets of the country’s central bank since August 15.

Although the Afghan central bank has resumed operation, many banks have still remained closed, with worried residents seen lining up outside the bank outlets for cash withdrawal.

The ongoing cash shortage has not only made it difficult for the Afghan people to survive but has also limited the country’s business activities of all time.

Although an aid package of over one billion U.S. dollars has been pledged by the international community, one in every three Afghan people are suffering major food shortages as a result of soaring prices, the severe humanitarian crisis in the country, and the possibility of economic collapse across the country.