At least 95% of libraries, bookstores, and publishing houses have closed in the Afghan capital in the past two months due to the dire economic situation in the country, TOLOnews reported.

About 95% of libraries in Kabul have closed due to financial difficulties. The current situation has led booksellers and publishers to a standstill. People who simply do not have the means to buy bread and clothes have no time for books now.

According to the organizers of regular book exhibitions in Kabul, the number of buyers in connection with recent events has decreased by at least 90%, and in the regions, this figure may be even higher.

As the TV channel noted, before the seizure of power in Afghanistan by the radical Taliban movement, 180 publishing houses worked in the country (of which 90 were in Kabul) and 525 bookstores (280 in Kabul).

A similar difficult situation in the book trade and publishing took place in Afghanistan in 1996-2001 when the Taliban were in power. In addition to the difficult economic situation in the country, publishers and booksellers faced radical bans on the distribution of illustrated printed materials.