Afghan Finance Minister Criticizes IMF

Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal

Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said on June 20 that he is "running out of patience" with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it rejected a plan to deal with Kabul Bank.

The private bank nearly collapsed last year after it emerged it had made unsecured loans of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Afghan elite.

The IMF is blocking the release of $70 million in aid because of its concerns.

The Afghan government uses Kabul Bank to pay salaries and, unless a deal is agreed, it may struggle to pay civil servants.

Kabul relies on aid for about 40 percent of its operating budget and for all of its reconstruction and development projects.

compiled from agency reports