US involved in Afghanistan corruption: ex-Afghan President

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Former Afghan President Hamid admitted Thursday that he had a hand in the corruption that took place in his country during his tenure, also highlighting that the United States was involved in the corruption in question.

"[I take] full responsibility for the corruption and bribes in the delivery of services… But the big contracts, big corruption, in hundreds of millions of dollars or millions of dollars, was clearly a United States of America thing," Karzai told The Washington Post.

The US placed a $7 billion asset freeze on the Afghan central bank in August of last year, which exacerbated the poverty crisis brought on by decades of US occupation, followed by the US forces' chaotic withdrawal and the fall of te US-supported government and thus the suspension of foreign aid.

US President Joe Biden announced a plan to divide the funds earlier this year, with half going to help Afghanistan under strict inhuman conditions and the other half going to those affected by the 9/11 attacks, in which Afghanistan has no involvement in.

Since then, Afghanistan has been hit by a winter food crisis, an economic collapse, and a terrible earthquake. Kabul's new leaders have been lobbying Washington to release the humanitarian money.

However, the US stated on Wednesday that it did not trust the Taliban leadership with the country's money and that the $3.5 billion would be kept in a professionally managed fund.

According to WashPo, the former Afghan President's place of residence is his country's capital, Kabul. He said he was constantly under the Taliban's eye, which does not allow him to leave the capital. Karzai did however say that he made the right choice by staying in Afghanistan despite the Taliban assuming authority in the country in August of last year.

"I was not sure of my own safety [after the Taliban came to power]. But I would have never left and I will never leave. This is my country," he underlined.

The Washington Post said the Taliban, who he succeeded as the first president under the US occupation that originally toppled the Taliban back in 2001, see the former President as their adversary, for he was "the first individual who worked with the Americans for the occupation of Afghanistan."

The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August following an incredibly chaotic withdrawal of US troops and the end of the US occupation of the country.

There have been dozens of blasts and attacks targeting civilians since the Taliban movement returned to power in August 2021 after the hasty US withdrawal from the country, most claimed by the local chapter of the IS-K terrorist organization.