Afghanistan International: Following the Taliban’s official ban on opium cultivation and trafficking, some Taliban officials and drug smugglers have turned to producing methamphetamine, locally known as shisha, derived from the ephedra plant, known in Afghanistan simply as ephedra. An investigation by Afghanistan International indicates that certain Taliban figures are directly involved in the ephedra trade.
Khaama: Tajikistan authorities have reported ten armed confrontations with drug traffickers along the Afghanistan border during the first half of this year, marking a significant increase compared to the same period last year. Authorities in Tajikistan have consistently expressed concern about the presence of terrorist groups and drug trafficking networks operating from Afghanistan territory. These
Amu: The day Setara, a young woman in Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, passed the university entrance exam was the day she believed her life would begin. Instead, it ended in a poppy field. Once dreaming of becoming a teacher, the young woman from Badakhshan, whose name has been changed in this story to protect
Ariana: Former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has raised concerns over a reported increase in poppy cultivation in Pakistan, warning that it could be fueling insurgency, terrorism, and lawlessness, particularly in regions like Balochistan. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated that opiate trafficking, primarily heroin, from Afghanistan through Central Asia to Russia generates approximately $10 billion in gross annual revenue. The report, released on Thursday, June 26, 2025, draws on data from 2022 and 2023, identifying Afghanistan as a primary hub for narcotics
Amu: Taliban counternarcotics units have withdrawn from the Khash district of Badakhshan Province following two days of local protests against the destruction of poppy fields, according to residents and local sources. Sources told Amu TV that the demonstrations erupted after Taliban forces began eradicating poppy crops in the remote district, prompting pushback from farmers who
Khaama: Mohammad Narimani, Director General of the International Relations Office of Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters, has stated that drug trafficking from Afghanistan warehouses to Iran and other countries continues unabated. According to Narimani, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Russia remain on the frontline in combating narcotics trafficking originating from Afghanistan. Afghanistan continues to be the world’s largest
Afghanistan International: Abdul Zahir Qadir, former Deputy Speaker of Afghanistan’s parliament, has been arrested in Kenya and is facing extradition to the United States on charges related to drug trafficking and possession of heavy weaponry. According to The Nairobi Times, Qadir was apprehended at a hotel in Nairobi shortly after arriving in the country on
Amu: More than two years after the Taliban’s 2022 ban on narcotics, poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan remain historically low, but opium continues to be grown, cultivated, and sold in some areas, according to a new report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR also noted that while Afghanistan has seen
Afghanistan International: Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, the Deputy Minister of Security and Police of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that despite the Taliban’s ban on the cultivation of narcotics, the smuggling of these drugs to Iran continues. Pourjamshidian said that smugglers in Afghanistan continue to maintain their drug stockpiles. Click here to read more (external