A month-and-a-half after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Afghans are finding it extremely difficult to survive and earn a living under a changing regime due to the accumulation of various factors including shortages, inflation, and mismanagement.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported that residents of Kabul are struggling to make ends meet with the price of basic commodities skyrocketing. As per reports, food costs have risen considerably as a result of food imports from Pakistan and Iran, affecting both buyers and sellers. Flour costs have gone up by 30 percent, while vegetables and cereals have undergone a by 50 percent rise.
Fuel prices have also risen by 20 to 40 percent since early August, a taxi driver in Kabul was reportedly saying. People who depended largely on a livelihood from driving cabs and tiny shuttle buses are left with little money due to the fuel price hikes.
A fall in the value of the Afghan currency coupled with restrictions on cash withdrawals from banks and ATMs have further added to the worry of the locals. Not more than 20,000 Afghanis can be withdrawn from banks per week, the Taliban government has dictated.
Earlier, Kabul streets were seen lined up with homecare appliances. In a desperate need to survive, Afghans were seen selling everything to find enough money to get food or arrange resources to escape the crumbling nation. Some were even seen selling off goods worth 100,000 afghanis for as little as 20,000.
Also Read: ‘My Children Need Food’: Kabul Streets Turn Into Flea Market as Afghans Struggle Amid Economic Collapse
According to a report in Tolo News, the Afghans who were earlier employed in the government or private sector were rendered jobless overnight and were left with no choice but to sell their belongings at cheap rates only to bring food to the table.
Talking to Tolo News, Laal Gul, a shopkeeper in Kabul expressed her agony while selling her refrigerator at half its original price. “I sold my items for less than half their value. I bought a refrigerator for 25,000 afghanis and sold it for 5,000. What am I to do? My children need food at night.”
The hardline Islamist group formed a new interim government earlier this month, after the exit of US and allied troops from the country on August 31. This resulted in an economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with millions displaced and on the brink of poverty and starvation.
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