KABUL, Oct 1: A new currency aimed at creating financial stability and aiding reconstruction in Afghanistan will be launched on October 7, the first anniversary of the start of the US-led military campaign, but most Afghans will wait two weeks before seeing any, officials said on Tuesday.

The troubled afghani currency is being replaced with new money, also called the afghani but worth 1,000 of the current banknotes, in an effort to shore up Afghanistan’s wildly fluctuating exchange markets and help attract investment.

Bank of Afghanistan deputy governor Isaq Turab said that initial distribution of the new money would be confined to the country’s currency exchange dealers, who will pass it on to the public after October 21.

He said the money would replace an estimated 15 trillion afghanis currently in circulation — the equivalent of 1,800 tons of banknotes — many printed illegally.

United Nations and International Monetary Fund observers were meeting in Kabul on Tuesday to discuss supervising the money exchange process which is expected to continue until December 5.—AFP