PESHAWAR, Nov 9: Gathered outside a small shop in the Chowk Yadgar’s Faiz Market, a large group of currency dealers, involving Afghans and local Pakhtoons, is busy trading afghani - Afghanistan’s national currency.

Afghan currency bills valuing billions of afghanis change hands every day in the market, making it quite distinct from other currency markets of the country.

People carrying piles of afghanis in their hands and bags filled with the Afghan currency on their shoulders, besides dealers having displayed bundles of afghanis in the showcases and racks of their shops, is a common sight there. “No other currency is changing hands as quickly as the afghani is,” said Misbahullah, a local currency dealer.

Faiz Plaza - the busiest money changing centre in the Chowk Yadgar area - presents the scene not akin to a currency market.

People at the Faiz Market compound trade afghanis in a way the fruit dealers carry out their business. “Whoever offers good rate - for a bundle of 100,000 Afghanis - gets (buys) it,” said the dealer.

Ever since the US named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect for the Sept 11 attacks in New York and Washington, the afghani started picking up in the currency market.

Since then several investors have made fortunes. Others lost their lifetime savings.

“There are several currency dealers who have large stocks of Afghani dumped in their houses as they don’t think time is ripe for disposing of them,” said Salim Saraf, president of the Peshawar Currency Dealers Association.

According to him, people made huge investments at a time when the afghani was picking up. “And now when it is going down with every passing day, investors have dumped afghanis with considerations to recover their losses when it starts picking up again,” said Mr Saraf. The boost Afghani received caused temptations making several from among Peshawar’s business community divert their investments towards the afghani.

In a way, increasing threats of imminent US attacks helped several make easy and quick money, leaving others to lose their hard earned cash.

The speculative buying kept on improving afghani’s exchange value against Pakistani rupee as before Sept 11, rupee to afghani parity was Rs87 to 100,000 afghanis. Later, the Afghan currency gained some ground recording the highest growth for the last decade.

With reports of former king Zahir Shah accepting to play a role in restoring peace to Afghanistan, the Afghan currency experienced a major boost, changing hands at Rs270 to 100,000 afghanis in September.

The exchange rate between the currencies fluctuates after every half an hour and speculative buying is dependent on the news stories about Afghanistan being churned out by the BBC and the CNN.

Reports of Northern Alliance’s territorial gains, losses suffered by the Taliban and advancement in the peace process aiming to work out a post-Taliban set up with Zahir Shah as its chief are some of the factors which raise the Afghan currency’s exchange rate.

After touching the value of Rs270 to 100,000 afghanis in the last week of September, the currency experienced a major dip, going down to Rs142 to 100,000 afghanis on Thursday.

“It would go further down if Taliban remain in power,” said Said Rehman, an old Afghan currency dealer from Nangerhar.Trading of Afghan currency going high in Peshawar

By Intikhab Amir