8am: Mohammad Masoud Zahidian, the deputy head of Iran’s anti-narcotics headquarters, says that drug smuggling has increased from the country’s soil. Previously, Indian, Russian and Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about the increase in drug cultivation, production and trafficking in Afghanistan under the rule of Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Local officials in the province of Uruzgan said that families in the province are using opium as medication to treat their children. Health officials in the province acknowledged that some families bring opium-addicted patients to healthcare centers. Children have reportedly died as a result of using opium as medicine, according to authorities. Click
Margaret Besheer VOA News November 10, 2022 The United Nations General Assembly called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities Thursday to reverse their policies and practices restricting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Afghan women and girls. “Afghanistan is now the only state in the world that would deny girls their full right to education,” General
Khaama: Despite the Taliban government’s ban on drugs, opium cultivation increased by 32% in Afghanistan in 2022, according to a report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Following the announcement of the poppy cultivation ban in April, the report says that opium prices have skyrocketed. Sales of opium increased Afghan farmers’ income
By Mursaleen Arsala and Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 18, 2022 In the spring, the Taliban announced a ban on the cultivation, trafficking, and use of illicit narcotics in Afghanistan, the world’s biggest producer of opium. But as the fall planting season for opium crops begins, the militant group appears to be turning
8am: The name and history of Taliban creation are associated with opium and drug trafficking, along with the implementation of strict and extreme religious practices. This spring, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of this group, issued an order prohibiting the cultivation, production, purchase, and sale of narcotics. But the findings of Hasht-e Subh Daily show
Akmal Dawi VOA News September 9, 2022 Unlike his predecessor, who almost terminated opium production in Afghanistan in the last year of Taliban rule with one decree in 2000, the current supreme leader of the Taliban appears to be unsuccessful in implementing his ban on opium production. In April, shortly after Afghan famers harvested opium
The Guardian (UK): Oil from the versatile plant makes cannabis medicine CBD and its fibre has a range of uses but the Taliban need convincing – The smell seemed unmistakable, the dried buds looked familiar and the Taliban checkpoint guards, who had never heard of CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabis compound, were disgusted by the pungent
AP: During the years-long Taliban insurgency, the movement reportedly made millions of dollars taxing farmers and middlemen to move their drugs outside Afghanistan. Senior officials of the U.S.-backed government also reportedly made millions on the flourishing drug trade. Today, Afghanistan’s opium output is greater than all other opium-producing countries combined. Click here to read more
NYT: The multibillion-dollar trade has survived previous bans. Now, the Taliban are going after solar-powered water pumps to try to dry up poppy crops in the middle of a national economic crisis. Click here to read more (external link).