Taliban Continues Sale of Gemstones from Panjshir and Kunar Worth Over $30 Million Afghani

The Taliban administration has announced that in the latest round of natural resource sales, a significant quantity of Panjshir emeralds and Kunar nephrite stones has been sold to private companies, with the total value exceeding 30 million Afghanis.

According to a statement from the Taliban-appointed governor of Panjshir province, around 6,770 carats of emerald from the region were auctioned on Tuesday (November 24), fetching 12,932,847 Afghanis.

Meanwhile, the Taliban’s Department of Mines and Petroleum in Kunar province confirmed that approximately 5.49 tons of nephrite stone, extracted from the Kuz Chenchen area of Khas Kunar district, were sold to a private company, Khalid Momand, for 17,348,400 Afghanis.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have consistently carried out the extraction and sale of the country’s valuable resources—including Panjshir emeralds, Nuristan mines, Bamiyan’s lead and tin, and Kunar gemstones—without transparency or public oversight.

These actions have sparked backlash. Numerous organizations and political figures have accused the Taliban of looting Afghanistan’s natural resources and have called for an immediate halt to the opaque process and accountability for those responsible.