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An Iranian pimp dubbed "39" has been fingered as the possible cause of a dramatic slump in car sales in the Afghan capital Kabul, Reuters reports.

The Iranian in question apparently had a "flashy" motor whose number plate contained the number 39. This became his nickname and subsequently a signifier for "pimp".

The term recently spread to "deeply conservative" Afghanistan, and buyers are refusing to have anything to do with vehicles bearing the shameful digits. This is a bit of a problem since the latest five-number sequence on licence plates begins with "39".

Those unfortunate enough to have bought a new pimpmobile before the terrible truth was revealed are having a hard time of it. Victim Mohammad Ashraf lamented: "Now even little kids say 'look, there goes the 39'. This car is a bad luck, I can't take my family out in it."

Car dealer Mohammad Jawed, who stumped $10,000 for a tainted Toyota Corolla a few months back, reckons it's glued to the parking lot for the foreseeable future. He said: "No one wants to buy this car anymore, even though I would sell it now for $6,000."