Afghan acting FM asks US to lift sanctions: gov't spokesman

AFP , Tuesday 1 Aug 2023

Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told US officials at a meeting held in Doha that the US sanctions against Afghanistan should be removed, the local Tolonews TV reported.

File Photo: Afghanistan s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi addresses a press conference in Kabul. AP

The Afghan media quoted the caretaker government's spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid as saying on Monday evening that Muttaqi also urged the US side not to create obstacles to the economic development of Afghanistan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Twitter Monday that the Afghan delegation was led by Muttaqi and comprised representatives from the country's central bank Da Afghanistan Bank, the Ministry of Finance, as well as officials from the Afghan embassy in Doha.

The Afghan delegation left Kabul on Saturday for Qatar to meet with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West.

Following the abrupt withdrawal of US-led forces in August 2021, Washington has imposed sanctions on the impoverished country, seizing Afghan assets and compounding the poverty brought by 20 years of foreign occupation.