A US judge on Friday gave the Biden administration more time to decide what should be done with about $7 billion of frozen Afghan central bank funds, which some victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want and which the Taliban claims is theirs.

US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan gave the Department of Justice until Feb 11 to recommend what to do with the funds, which are held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

The funds have been frozen since the Taliban's military takeover in Afghanistan last August. A recommendation on what to do had been expected by Friday.

In a Thursday court filing, the Justice Department requested more time to address the "many complex and important issues" including Sept. 11 victims' claims, diplomacy, and the "still-evolving" situation in Afghanistan.

Some Sept. 11 victims and their families are seeking to cover unsatisfied court judgments related to the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The White House also faces pressure from the United Nations and humanitarian aid groups not to apply the funds toward court judgments. They would prefer money be used to shore up Afghanistan's central bank, ease the country's liquidity shortfalls, and help address poverty, hunger and other economic distress.