RASC News Agency: In response to the rising value of the U.S. dollar against the kabuli rupees, the Taliban-controlled Central Bank of Afghanistan has announced its intention to auction $27 million on Wednesday. In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 28, the bank confirmed that this amount would be injected into the market to stabilize the volatile exchange rate. The Taliban have urged private banks and financial institutions to participate in the bidding process, framing the auction as an effort to counter the surging value of the dollar against the kabuli rupees. Just three days ago, the Taliban similarly auctioned $20 million in an unsuccessful bid to control the exchange rate.
The value of the U.S. dollar has recently soared, with one dollar trading at 79 to 80 kabuli rupees in currency markets across Afghanistan. In light of this sharp increase, the Taliban have prohibited dollar-denominated transactions at Kabul’s Shahzada Market, the country’s primary foreign exchange hub. The depreciation of the kabuli rupees accelerated following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension of U.S. financial aid to the Taliban. Within hours of the announcement, Afghanistan’s currency markets spiraled out of the Taliban’s control. Initially, the group declared they would forcibly curb the dollar’s rise, but it quickly became evident that the economic complexities at play could not be addressed through coercion.
For years, the Taliban have depended heavily on overt and covert financial aid from the United States to sustain their economic influence. However, as their reliance on force has failed to yield results, the Central Bank has now announced a desperate measure: the auction of millions of U.S. dollars that were previously under their control. This move underscores the group’s struggle to manage Afghanistan’s rapidly deteriorating economic landscape.
