Taliban ban use of foreign currency in Afghanistan

The Taliban announced a complete ban on the use of foreign currency in Afghanistan and warned of action for violators, reports said.

The move to shift to local currency, Afghani, is certain to cause further disruption to the Afghanistan economy that is already on the brink of collapse.

"The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public toconduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," a statement by Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said.

"Anyone violating this order will face legal action," the statement further read.

Till now, theUS dollar was widely used in Afghanistan's markets whilebordering areas use the currency of neighbouring countries like Pakistan for trade purposes.

Afghanistan's access to more than $9.5 billion has been blocked by the US, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the Taliban takeover ofKabul on August 15.

Millions of Afghans have been internally displaced, and thousands have left the country, giving rise to a growing humanitarian crisis.

The country is in a dire economic situation with no international support and connectivity, resulting in an extremely difficult situation for ordinary people.