Local Taliban officials in Panjshir have announced the sale of 2,955 carats of emeralds extracted from the province’s mines for 16 million and 762 thousand Afghanis.

Saifuddin Laton, spokesman for the Taliban governor in Panjshir, said the emeralds were sold at an auction on Tuesday, September 15 (24 Sunbula).

According to him, a number of domestic Afghan traders participated in the auction and purchased the extracted emeralds.

Laton added that the emeralds had been extracted over the past week from mines in the First Hesa district of Panjshir.

This comes as the Taliban, since returning to power, have continued the extraction and sale of Panjshir emeralds and have also begun the extraction of green garnet, ruby, and lapis lazuli mines in the province.