Saifuddin Laton, the Taliban spokesperson in Panjshir province, said that 1,220 carats of emeralds extracted from the province’s mines were sold today to domestic traders through an official bidding process.
Laton stated that the total value of the emeralds was around 2.6 million Afghanis, and the auction was held in the presence of local businessmen.
According to him, Panjshir emeralds are offered to the market every week under the supervision of a special committee and are sold through a bidding process.
Panjshir is one of Afghanistan’s provinces known for its high-quality emerald mines, and since the Taliban returned to power, special attention has been given to the extraction and sale of these mines.
The Taliban had previously said that revenues from the mines are being used to strengthen the country’s economic activities, but critics have expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in the mining sector.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
