Pashtana Durrani, the founder of an organization committed to providing education to women and girls across Afghanistan while the country remains under Taliban rule, said the Islamic fundamentalist group has poor financial literacy, especially when it is is about crypto.
In a Wednesday interview with political commentator Tommy Vietor from Pod Save the World, the founder of LEARN Afghanistan, Pashtana Durrani, spoke called the international community – especially the United States – should consider lifting sanctions imposed on Afghanistan and re-thawing funds controlled by foreign governments. Limiting foreign aid to Afghanistan by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other agencies gives the Taliban an edge over using the latest technology, including cryptocurrency, Durrani said.
“When I say thaw the assets, send them in cryptocurrency – the Taliban will never understand,” said Durrani. “Send it to a private bank – they will never have access to it […] Taliban do not have bank accounts. Taliban were people who fought in rural and very mountainous regions. You didn’t have time to go to a bank, fill out the forms and have that. ”
Pashtana Durrani speaks about Pod Save the World
After the Taliban came to power almost immediately in August, Afghanistan faced a number of crises. In addition to the threat of armed religious extremists who control the government, millions of Afghans face food insecurity and economic hardship. Many residents are still unable to withdraw cash from banks as the international community tries to impose restrictions intended to harm the Taliban.
“The sanction only harms the people who had savings in their bank accounts. It harms the teachers, it harms the students, it harms all the people who have actually worked for the past two decades – it will never harm the Taliban. “
Lots of nonprofits Help for Afghan refugees relocate abroad have asked for crypto donations with Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens, but Durrani has called for the use of digital assets as a force for good in the face of what it sees as ineffective sanctions. In the digital age, good Samaritans sometimes have official sanctions bypassed completely imposed by the US to donate directly to people affected by war, famine or other disasters in countries like Iran and Yemen.
Related: Crypto can alleviate the financial consequences for the people of Afghanistan
“Afghanistan can be included on these great lists [the Financial Action Task Force] and all that, ”said Durrani. “It could be one of those countries that are just starting to use cryptocurrencies – legitimizing them, whatever – but at the end of the day you are hurting the wrong people to punish the people in power. “
