RASC News Agency: As Afghanistan prepares to celebrate Eid al-Adha tomorrow, residents of Kandahar province report that increasing poverty has stripped them of the ability to purchase livestock for sacrifice. Livestock vendors in the province also note a significant decline in their markets compared to previous years. Kandahar residents explain that growing poverty and destitution have prevented them from properly celebrating Eid.
This is the Bag Pul area in Kandahar city, known as the largest livestock market in the province. Although Eid al-Adha is just a day away in Afghanistan, livestock vendors in the province lament the sluggishness of their sales. Wazir Mohammad, a livestock seller in Kandahar, states, “The market has dropped by fifty percent compared to previous years. This is because people simply do not have the money.”
Some Kandahar residents and livestock sellers are calling for strict oversight of livestock prices in the province. Sardar Mohammad, another livestock seller, remarks, “Since the Taliban came and banned the use of Pakistani rupees, all the markets have deteriorated. We are in dire straits.” The lack of employment and rising poverty are cited as major reasons for the sluggish livestock markets.
Allah Nazar, a livestock seller in Kandahar, notes, “Our markets have significantly decreased compared to last year. Last year, the markets were very good; people had more money and were buying more.” Kandaharis report that this year, on average, each sheep is sold for between ten to thirty thousand kabuli rupees, and each cow for up to 110,000 kabuli rupees.
Meanwhile, Abdul Batin, a livestock seller in Panjshir, comments, “There is no money and no work; two-thirds of the people are not making sacrifices because they cannot afford to buy a sacrificial sheep or goat.” Since the Taliban took control of the country, unemployment has increased, and people are living in poverty.
