RASC News Agency: Shahabuddin Delawar, the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum for the Taliban, recently announced the sale of over 20 carats of emeralds from Panjshir province, with a total estimated value exceeding two million US dollars. Delawar disclosed this information during a press conference held in Kabul on Thursday, December 7th. He further detailed that the sales occurred in seven different stages, orchestrated by the Taliban group.
Alongside these sales, the Taliban group has issued work permits for 400 miners in Panjshir province. Currently, approximately 10 thousand individuals are employed in the mines of this province. This move comes amid the economic challenges faced by the Taliban since their rise to power. To address these issues and enhance their income, the group has turned to the indiscriminate extraction of Afghanistan’s mines, particularly those situated in the northern regions.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, under the Taliban’s control, has provided statistics indicating that over the past two years, they have signed 200 mining contracts with both domestic and foreign mixed companies. However, only 108 of these contracts were signed within the last year. It is worth noting that the majority of these contracts have not been made public or shared with the general population, raising concerns about transparency. Critics argue that the Taliban, lacking international recognition and legitimacy, exploit the mines for their own benefit.
