KABUL, Aug 29: Afghan President Hamid Karzai entered a vault at his Kabul palace on Friday to inspect a valuable treasure trove that has remained untouched through civil war and the rule of the Taliban.

If all of the gold and silver on the inventory is there, it could be worth $90 million to the war-shattered country, said central bank governor Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady. That compares to total Afghan foreign exchange reserves of around $600 million.

“The last time the vault was opened was 1989 during the Communist era, when they checked what they had there,” Ahady, who was with Karzai during the inspection, told Reuters.

Pooled television footage showed Karzai standing beside a small wooden box that had just been opened containing three fist-sized rectangular bars of gleaming gold.

“Today with the grace of Allah Almighty, we have succeeded in seeing the central treasure of Afghanistan,” said Karzai. “Fortunately, it is in place.”

Ahady said the last time the vault was opened and the contents checked was in 1989, when the country was ruled by Soviet-backed president Najibullah. He was executed by the Taliban in central Kabul in 1996.

The gold and silver was left untouched during the civil war between rival factions of the “mujahideen”, or holy warriors who fought against Soviet occupation in the 1980s and forced the Red Army to retreat at the end of the decade.

“I think the Taliban tried to open it, but bank officials somehow managed not to let them,” Ahady said.

“There were numerous rumours during the last 15 years that most of the gold had been taken from the vaults.”

Last year the government attempted to break into its own vault, going as far as trying to contact the company that built it. Unfortunately it had gone out of business. But with the help of local locksmiths, the treasure was finally reached.

“We are very pleased to say that even though the inspection is not complete, so far everything is intact. There is no evidence that anything has been taken,” said Ahady.—Reuters