Afghans oppose Pakistan’s attempt to impose its own currency

The Afghan government stresses that Pakistani currency should not be used and those using it should be punished. Several people have reacted to a report in a Pakistani newspaper stating that business deals in Afghanistan should be conducted in Pakistani rupees, Pajhwok News reported. According to a report in the Daily Jang, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Shawkat Tareen said Afghanistan faced a shortage of dollar reserves and that is why it would transact in Pakistani rupees.

It was reported that Tareen made the statements after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank suspended payments to Afghanistan. The Raha Press reported Pakistan’s most ‘shocking’ economy minister told the Senate Economic Committee that since Afghanistan is running out of dollar liquidity, trade with Afghanistan may be in rupees (Pakistani rupees). It should be noted that in the past, many cities of India bordering Pakistan used the Pakistani rupee as their main exchange rate. This was met with many reactions, the report suggests. In Afghanistan, Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation and would assist the nation in restoring economic growth.

In response to these reports, Afghans launched a social media campaign titled ‘Afghani is our national identity’, Pajhwok News reported. Social media activists shared slogans such as: ‘We are Afghan residents, Afghani is our national identity, and using Afghan currency is our responsibility’. Using the currency of my country means I will make all transactions in Afghanistan with Afghani currency. As Abdul Kareem tweeted, “I’m building my own country myself.

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Another social media user said, ‘Survival of Afghanis is entirely dependent on the Taliban; if Pakistani rupees replaced the Afghani here (in Afghanistan), Afghans will hold you accountable’. A number of pro-Taliban people also responded. Hammad Afghan, another netizen, said in a tweet, ‘If you want an enlightened future for Afghanistan, you should promote the national currency (Afghani)’.

‘If the Taliban values national identity and Afghanhood, then they should use Afghan currency for their transactions’. He said Taliban officials, businessmen, and people should be made aware that they would be punished for using Pakistani rupees. According to the report, other people were of the same opinion and said foreign currency users should be punished.