KABUL – Hundreds of people have thronged a currency exchange market in the Afghan capital here that reopened over the weekend after being shut since the Taliban seized control of the city on August 15.
Footage by an Anadolu agency correspondent shows the crowd at Sarai Shahzada market, the largest currency exchange market in cash-strapped Afghanistan.
After the Taliban captured the capital, exchange offices at the market were shuttered for nearly three weeks.
Some owners said there are nearly 400 offices at the market, and they have representation in a total of 120 countries.
They said money transfers can be made to many parts of the world within a minute.
Emincan Hosti, former head of the Sarai Shahzada exchange offices, said the market has a 70-year history, and is one of the centres that have shaped the economy of Kabul and the whole of Afghanistan.
Security issues have been largely resolved and economic activity increasing after the Taliban captured Kabul, he said.
The Taliban is experiencing a cash shortage as the country’s assets are held abroad, and the public is sceptical of the new administration’s economic policies.
After the Taliban took over Kabul, banks were shut for nearly two weeks.
People have flocked to financial institutions to withdraw up to US$230 (RM953), the weekly limit imposed by the Afghan central bank.
The International Monetary Fund has already blocked Afghanistan’s access to the world body’s resources, including some US$440 million in new monetary reserves, due to a lack of clarity on the nation’s governance structure.
United States officials said the Afghan central bank’s assets abroad worth US$10 billion are likely beyond the Taliban’s reach.
The Taliban will not be able to access any central bank assets held in the US, officials from the Joe Biden administration told foreign media recently. – Bernama, September 6, 2021
