The Taliban’s office in Panjshir announced that 5,435 carats of emeralds extracted from mines in Hesa Awal district of Panjshir were sold through a bidding process for $189,990. Spokesperson Saifuddin Laton said four foreign traders participated in the auction.
The Taliban claim their share from the emerald sales is ten percent, with the remainder going to contracting companies. This sale took place over the past two weeks, and since retaking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have regularly extracted and sold emeralds from Panjshir mines.
However, this process has faced widespread criticism, with some political factions accusing the Taliban of plundering the country’s mineral resources.
