KABUL: The United Nations is seeking USD 8 billion from donations to help with the Afghan issue.  According to reports, Deborah Lyons, the UN's top envoy in Afghanistan, declared that the world organisation will seek $8 billion in aid from donors to help the war-torn country cope with the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Lyons told an international meeting at the Presidential Palace, Arg, on Wednesday that cash transfers to Afghanistan will continue until the country's banking system was restored, according to reports.

"We were able to obtain approval to import funds to solve the devastating lack of liquidity with the help of your administration. We imported almost 120 million dollars in December of last year, and another 32 million this month "she stated.  The international summit at the Arg was the first since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. The gathering drew representatives from 20 countries, some of whom joined through videoconference.

The UN special envoy went on to say that some of the country's successes over the last two decades have been undermined, and that more than half of the population lives in poverty. She stated that the UN is working to lift Afghanistan's existing sanctions.

Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund also spoke at the conference, saying that short-term help is insufficient to alleviate the problem, and he urged for the removal of barriers to economic growth, according to state media reports.

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