US plans to assist Afghanistan with $6.3bn emergency relief

In a bid to assist Afghan refugees in the United States following the evacuation from Kabul last month, the US House of Representatives approved a $6.3 billion relief fund.

CAPE TOWN, September 22 (ANA) – In a bid to assist Afghan refugees in the United States (US) following the evacuation from Kabul last month, the US House of Representatives approved a $6.3 billion relief fund.

According to Al Jazeera, the lower house of the US Congress passed a $28.6 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday which includes the Afghan emergency assistance, however, it still needs to be approved by the US Senate.

House Democrat representative Deborah Ross said the funding would ensure the government agencies involved in the resettlement process are adequately equipped to help Afghan refugees build new lives in safety in the US.

The thousands of Afghan refugees who have made their way to the US during the evacuation are those who have assisted US forces during its 20-year occupation in Afghanistan.

On Monday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported that Afghanistan’s deputy minister of culture and information, Zabihullah Mujahid, called on the US to take responsibility for their past “killings and oppression” in Afghanistan.

“It’s been 20 years that they have martyred civilians in Afghanistan,” Mujahid said.

“They have attacked the homes of civilians several times,” he said.

Mujahid added that the US must cooperate with the people of Afghanistan as compensation for their killings and oppression in the country, and called on the greater international community to show their support as well.

Mujahid further noted that the new caretaking Afghan government is looking for “affirmative relations with the world and that they will cooperate in the respective areas of human rights issues.

Meanwhile, during his address at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani stressed the importance of continued support by the international community towards the Afghan people during this critical stage, and to “separate between humanitarian aid and political differences”.

– African News Agency (ANA); Edited by Naomi Mackay