The World Bank has frozen payments for its projects in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

“We have paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation in line with our internal policies and procedures,’’ a World Bank spokesperson said in Washington.

“As we do so, we will continue to consult closely with the international community and development partners.

“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and the impact on the country’s development prospects, especially for women.

“Together with our partners, we are exploring ways we can remain engaged to preserve hard-won development gains and continue to support the people of Afghanistan,’’ the spokesperson added.

The World Bank has been an important donor of development projects for Afghanistan, which was one of the poorest countries in the world.

The organisation says that it has provided aid to Afghanistan totalling almost five billion dollars from 2002 through April 2021.

In February there were twelve projects in Afghanistan with a volume of around 940 million dollars, plus other projects in cooperation with a local fund for reconstruction.

The International Monetary Fund, also based in Washington, announced last week that it would suspend cooperation with Afghanistan until further notice.