Our business at standstill, say Kabul fruit market vendors

KABUL (Pajhwok): Fresh fruit and vegetable market vendors in Kabul say the uncertainty and unknown fate of the country’s system has brought their business to a standstill.

The Taliban and some politicians have been negotiating over the past week to form an inclusive government, but they have not yet reached any agreement.

Atiqullah, who owns a shop in the market, told Pajhwok Afghan News their business had come to a standstill after the arrival of the Taliban and the prices of some items had increased.

He said a new government should be formed as early as possible so people could live in peace. “Otherwise people will be destroyed, some will die at the airport to go abroad, and others will die from unemployment and poverty,” he said.

He said he paid 20,000 afghanis as rent of his shop but his earnings had fallen and he would not be able to pay the rent this time.

He said there was peace in Kabul after the arrival of Taliban, but businesses had declined by 50 per cent and commodity prices had risen sharply.

Another man, Nazer, who owns a shop in the market, told Pajhwok Afghan News that he was associated with the business of selling fresh fruits for the past 50 years.

He said since the day the regime changed, his business had stalled.  He said he would previously sell fruits worth 20000 afghanis a day, which had declined to less than 5000 afghanis.

He said huge quantity of vegetables and fruits would come from provinces to Kabul and now they were in short supply.

Nazar said people were unemployed and lived in poverty and they lacked enough money to buy anything so their business had declined. He called on the Taliban to provide jobs to people and prevent price-hike.

Another shopkeeper, Mohammad Qasim, told Pajhwok Afghan News his business had taken a turn for the worse with the change of government. He said previously there was a lot of business but now the number of buyers had significantly reduced.

A number of other shopkeepers made similar comments, urging the Taliban to establish a system as soon as possible and control commodity prices.

On the issue, Taliban deputy spokesman Ahmadullah Wasiq told Pajhwok Afghan News they would announce their cabinet soon.

He said that some departments had already started their activities and other departments would also start their activities soon, adding that businesses would be provided with facilities to move forward.

He said all markets in the city were open, but it would take some time for everything to return to normal.

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