AFGHANISTAN Taliban hike coal price, Islamabad on brink of energy crisis

Kabul increased tariffs and imposed customs duties. Both countries lack foreign currency and in Pakistan power cuts are increasing, aggravated by the floods of recent weeks. Economic relations add to pre-existing tensions.

Peshawar ( / Agencies) – The Taliban raised the price of coal, creating serious problems for its neighbor Pakistan, which, lacking foreign currency, was buying fossil fuels at low prices and in local currency to try to alleviate the energy crisis that the country is suffering. .

Due to the impending economic crisis (not unlike the one in Sri Lanka), Islamabad had announced its intention to import coal from Afghanistan in Pakistani rupees instead of dollars. Power outages have become frequent in the country and the floods of recent weeks have aggravated the situation.

At the same time, due to international sanctions, the Taliban government in Kabul needs revenue, so it has more than doubled the price of coal and raised customs duties.

Pakistan imports 70% of its coal from South Africa, where prices have reached record highs due to the war in Ukraine and internal disturbances in the country. In March, the price of coal reached 425 dollars per ton. Despite the drop in prices in recent months, the market remains unpredictable, which is why at the end of June the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, approved the purchase of Afghan coal, which according to government sources would have saved 2,200 million dollars in imports.

But the Taliban announced the imposition of a 30% tariff and raised the price from $90 to $200 a ton. “The price of coal per ton on the world market is around $350 and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will exploit its coal reserves by selling it at international prices and imposing export duties,” Mufti Esmatullah Burhan, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, told Nikkei Asia. Oil and Minerals.

Islamabad did not react to the Taliban remarks, but Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in an interview with The News that Pakistan is only interested in importing coal from Afghanistan if it can do so at affordable prices.

The incident is part of a series of pre-existing tensions between the two countries. The Taliban have not responded to Islamabad’s call to dismantle Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Pakistani Taliban) sanctuaries in Afghanistan and security forces from both countries have clashed several times over the border, known as the Durand Line. Islamabad wants to continue building a wall while Kabul has blocked the project.