Mawlawi Shahbuddin Delawar, the Taliban’s Minister of Mines and Petroleum, said that 70 mining companies in Helmand province owe 2.83 billion Afghani to the Taliban.
Delawar in a visit to Helmand warned the companies that they should pay their debts or face legal consequences.
According to the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency, the Taliban’s Minister of Mines and Petroleum added that a new team will be sent to Helmand to work on the exploration of mining sites.
Delawar considers Helmand a mineral-rich province and said that effective measures should be in place for extraction of the province’s mining sites.
Delawar had earlier said that the Taliban government will start the extraction of 150 new mining sites across Afghanistan.