The National Interest: Left with a weak economy, the Taliban have become dependent on coal mining to sustain their coffers. This bodes ill for the country’s long-term economic future. In an exclusive interview on a state-owned TV in 2022, Shahabuddin Dilawar, the acting minister of mines and petroleum, explained that Afghanistan has millions of tons
NPR: Even in wealthy, developed nations with advanced technologies, heavy machinery and readily available protective equipment, mining can be a dangerous and sometimes deadly job. In Afghanistan, where much of the coal is mined by hand, every descent into the bowels of this mountain is a gamble. Click here to read more (external link).
Xinhua: At least two mine workers were killed as a coal mine collapsed in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province on Monday, Mawlawi Abdullah Hamid, head of Baghlan’s coal mine enterprise, said Tuesday. Non-standard mining, poor equipment and unskilled workers to extract the underground treasure, according to Afghans, often claim the lives of miners in Afghanistan. Click
openDemocracy: The Afghan official told openDemocracy that the country’s mines are “labour intensive, don’t use high technology and machinery and only provide risky work, without safeguards or insurance”. “But,” they added, explaining how such mines continue to find willing workers, “so many Afghans are starving, they don’t even care about their own life”. Click here
FT: As Afghanistan battles economic crisis Islamists increase exports to generate revenue with the help of child labour Dozens of men and boys, covered head to toe in coal dust, stream in and out of the mine shafts bored deep into a mountain in northern Afghanistan… Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA News July 16, 2022 ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s cash-strapped Taliban government has tripled prices for coal in less than a month to raise revenue from its mining sector amid a lack of direct foreign funding and booming coal exports to neighboring Pakistan. The spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in Kabul, Esmatullah
Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 15, 2022 Cash-strapped and cut off from international aid, the Taliban-led government is tapping into Afghanistan’s natural resources to boost revenue. Since the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in Kabul and seized power in August 2021, the export of and custom duties from coal have become a key
Tolo News: Owners of coal factories in Afghanistan said the Afghan coal is being sold to three Pakistani companies: Fauji Fertilizer Power Station, Cherat Cement Factory and Lucky Cement and Coal. Economists said these companies are connected with the Pakistan Army. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Hundreds of tonnes of coal from mines across the country are being exported on a daily basis to Pakistan. The industrial companies working in the coal business said that the majority of coal is from Dara-e-Soof of Samangan and Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul province. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the import of coal from Afghanistan in rupees instead of US dollars, saying the move will help the country save precious foreign exchange. Sharif on Monday chaired a meeting on improving the transportation system of coal imported from Afghanistan in the country, the Express Tribune reported. “The