Families of 9/11 victims urge Biden to direct $3.5 billion worth of frozen assets to the Afghan people. 'This is their money, not ours,' they argue.

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Billions of dollars in frozen assets held by the Afghanistan central bank should be returned to the Afghan people as a humanitarian crisis in the country, according to some family members of 9/11 victims.

The Afghan central bank's $7 billion worth of assets were held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after 77 family members signed a request to modify an executive order. The letter was written by a person.

The goal was to keep the funds out of reach from the Taliban as the group embarked on a swift takeover of the country. The Biden administration hoped to direct half of the assets towards aid for the Afghan people, while the other half could be used to compensate the families of 9/11 victims.

According to the family members who signed the letter, any use of those funds to pay relatives is "legally suspect and morally wrong."

According to The New York Times, about 150 family members of the 9/11 victims successfully sued several groups, including Al Qaeda and the Taliban, when a court ordered them to pay billions of dollars in damages.

Lawyers for the relatives of the victims are trying to get compensation through the frozen assets after the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government. The Federal Reserve of New York was given a "writ of execution" by a US marshal after the $7 billion default judgment was won.

The arguments are questionable according to the family members.

The Taliban gained control of the frozen assets when they took control of the Afghan government, according to a letter. The legal claims are complex. These arguments are not based on fact. The money isn't owned by the Taliban. The money comes from Afghanistan's central bank and is owned by the people of Afghanistan.

Legal access to the funds has been a point of contention. Talks with the Biden administration over the reserves have stopped because the leaders of the Taliban think the funds belong to them.

The humanitarian crisis afflicting the Afghan people is highlighted by the family members who signed the letter.

Poverty and famine continue to plague the country. One year after the Taliban takeover, nearly 23 million people are food-insecure and two million children suffer from malnutrition, according to a report from the United Nations.

The letter states that the money belongs to the Afghan people and they need it more.