Uruzgan: Dozens of shopkeepers arrested for violating rupee ban

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Dozens of shopkeepers have been arrested and their shops sealed in this capital city of central Uruzgan province for doing business in the Pakistani currency.

The arrests come after a two-week deadline the authorities set for shopkeepers to stop using rupees in their daily transactions expired.

A committee jerked into action two weeks ago in Tirinkot to promote the afghani and discourage the use of foreign currencies in daily transactions.

Officials of the seven-member committee now say they arrested dozens of shopkeepers in Tirinkot city and closed their shops as they continued to do business in rupees after the expiry of the deadline.

A member of the committee, Haji Yusuf, told Pajhwok more than 50 shopkeepers had been arrested in Tirinkot since last one week.

He said the shopkeepers were arrested after they continued to sell and buy things using the Pakistani currency despite the end of the deadline.

According to him, the committee has appointed a number of people to identify shopkeepers violating the ban.

He said the arrested individuals were incarcerated for short and long periods and their shops closed for a long period of time.

Another member of the committee, Maulvi Adalat, said that the campaign to ban the use of foreign currencies in Uruzgan would continue and would be extended to remote areas as well.

He said in addition to promoting the afghani, their committee was also responsible for controling prices.

Adalat warned if someone continued to do business in the Pakistani currency, he would be sent behind bars for a long period of time.

Uruzgan residents say they are happy that serious efforts have been launched to promote the afghani after two decades.

Mohammad Wais, a shopkeeper in Tirinkot city, told Pajhwok that if people used the afghani in all transactions, it would help improve the economic situation.

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