Pakistan’s Plan to Import Cheaper Coal Backfires as Afghanistan Hikes Prices

Pakistan’s Plan to Import Cheaper Coal Backfires as Afghanistan Hikes Prices
Afghan miners work in a coal mine in 100 km east of the western city of Herat in Afghanistan on June 26, 2010. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Aldgra Fredly
Updated:

The Taliban moved to increase Afghanistan’s coal prices after Pakistan’s prime minister announced plans to import coal from Afghanistan using local currency to save foreign reserves.

Coal prices in Afghanistan were raised from $90 per tonne to $200 per tonne last week as the Taliban seeks to generate revenue from its mining sector amid a lack of direct foreign funding.