Afghan currency boosted by Pakistani rupee ban

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – Afghanistan's local currency, the Afghani, has been boosted by a decision to ban the use of the Pakistani rupee in the southern Kandahar region.

The currency looked strong on Thursday after earlier in the week provincial police chief General Abdul Razique imposed a ban for the whole greater Kandahar province on using the rival Pakistani rupee for trade, following a notification about Afghanistan's central bank.

Haji Qandi Agha, head of the Association of Currency Traders in Kabul, told Anadolu Agency the value of the Afghani had appreciated from 69 against the dollar to 62 in the two days since Razique's call.

He said there had also been a rise from 1.6 Afghanis to 1.8 Afghanis against the Pakistani rupee, noting the demand was specifically caused by the changes in the greater Kandahar region, where more than 3 million people live.

Using Pakistani or Iranian currencies has become routine in Afghan border areas near the two countries because of the ongoing conflicts and resulting instability of recent decades.