AFGHANISTAN -A NATION- TRADESMEN : THE WORLD

THOUGH not a key economic power, Afghanistan's geographic location makes it very important.

AFGHANS are one of the best tradesmen in the world. An Afghan trader would carry a bag of numerous goods on his back and move from door to door to sell his ware.

The interesting aspect of this approach is negotiation over prices, which will come down drastically from the rates quoted initially. However, if one were to match those rates with local market prices for the same goods, these would double the prices in the local market.

This was the scenario back in the 1990s. When the Afghans entered into a war with Russia, their markets, skills and tradesmen, talent eroded and they were forced to sell whatsoever goods they got in Pakistani markets.

They settled in every city of Pakistan and sold old clothes sent to them from Europe or America for help.

The poverty-stricken Afghans along with local [Pakistani] Pashtuns also ran other businesses like timber business and lent money at very high rates.

Interestingly, the total Pashtun population is estimated at around 63 million [roughly 60-70 million worldwide]. However, this figure is disputed because of the absence of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979.

Around 42.5 million Pashtuns live in this region. They reside mostly in southern Afghanistan and north western Pakistan.

Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and constitute around 42-60% [16-24 million] of the population, as per various claims.

Afghanistan's population stood at around 39.9 million in 2019 with gross domestic product [GDP] size of $18.69 billion.

Meanwhile, the country's GDP per capita is $565 per person. Afghanistan exports of around $863 million include lithium, natural gas, gold, silver, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, iron, edible salt, precious and semi stones.

On the other hand, its imports stand at around $7 billion.

The United Arab Emirates [UAE], India, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, the US, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Brazil are among its main trading partners.

The Honor And Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Afghanistan, continues. The  World Students Society thanks author Ahmed Mukhtar.