Exiled Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned about the hacking of his Facebook account, where a call purportedly urging international recognition of the Taliban movement (banned as a terrorist organization in Russia) was published earlier.
The statement included calls for reportedly helping the Islamist group, recognizing it and unfreezing Afghan assets.
Members of the Taliban Intelligence Special Forces guard the military airfield in Kabul
© WANA NEWS AGENCY
After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the US froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union also suspended funding for projects in the Islamic republic.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan September 6, 2021
© REUTERS / STRINGER
On 13 September, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sputnik that the new Afghan government was prepared to take all possible legal steps to unfreeze Afghanistan's foreign assets in the United States.
Ashraf Ghani's Twitter page has posted a message indicating his official Facebook account had been breached.
Last month, Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul for the United Arab Emirates after the Taliban siezed the Afghan capital. The Islamist group had launched a lightening-swift offensive in the wake of departing US and NATO forces, reclaiming control over the war-torn country.
The new Afghan government formed by the Taliban movement is not seeking the extradition of former President Ashraf Ghani but wants to return the funds allegedly taken away by him; Zabihullah Mujahid, deputy minister of culture and information of the interim Afghan government, said in an interview with Sputnik.
"No, we are not seeking the extradition of Ghani. But Ashraf Ghani has stolen state funds and we demand that they must be returned to the bank. They belong to people and our banks," Mujahid said.
* Taliban is a terror group banned in Russia