Food prices soar as Taliban close money market

NNI, Jan 20

KABUL: Accusing Russia of flooding the market with illegal notes, the Taliban government has shut down Kabul's money market sending prices of food and fuel soaring.

Taliban religious army arrested 10 persons yesterday in the capital for defying the closure. A money changer, requested not to be named, complained that Taliban beat and put them behind the bars.

Most of the around 5,000 dealers in Afghanistan's flourishing money market are government workers moonlighting as money changers. The business of exchanging American dollars and Pakistani rupees for Afghanis provides them a living, said Mannan, a government worker who hasn't received a salary from the Taliban rulers in seven months. "We have to avail of the opportunities to stay alive," he said.

The Taliban's deputy finance minister Arifullah Arif said the Taliban had no choice but to shut down the market. The big reason he said was a massive influx of Afghani notes printed in Russia for the Taliban opposition, led by former President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

"The Russians are still interfering in Afghanistan's affairs," he said.--NNI