BLACK MARKET FOR VISAS THRIVING IN AFGHANISTAN AMID EMBASSIES CLOSED

Thu 16 September 2021:

As embassies in Kabul remain closed, the number of Afghans buying black market visas at high prices is increasing, according to Afghan tv.

Because most embassies have closed since Kabul’s government collapsed, only a Pakistani visa may now be obtained lawfully in Afghanistan. People are buying visas from a number of other countries on the black market for double or triple the price of visas issued by the former government, according to Shafi Samim, director of a travel firm in Kabul, as quoted by TOLOnews.

“The real price for a Tajikistan visa is $60, but on the black market it is around $350 to $400. The real price for Turkey’s visa is $120, but on the black market it is up to $5,000. There are secrets that we do not know, only the firsthand dealers know how to obtain them,” Samim said.

Even holders of Pakistani visas are now forced to buy a “pass” on the black market to cross the Torkham gate on the border with Pakistan, a resident of Kabul, Mohmmad Haroon, told the TV channel.

“People have been waiting here for one and two months. They have visas but cannot pass at Torkham gate. They (sellers) have created a black market and sell the gate pass for $200 to $300,” Haroon said.

A number of travel agency officials and Afghan residents called on the embassies of foreign countries to reopen in order to “dismantle the black markets,” according to the television channel.

According to the Taliban’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, people would be able to leave Afghanistan once the Kabul airport is reopened.

Qatar Airways, the country’s main carrier, brought 114 citizens from five nations to Doha on September 9, the first commercial passenger flight since the US military pullout.

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