By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi Abubakar Siddique February 16, 2023 A devastating humanitarian and economic crisis has forced millions of Afghans to find new sources of income. A growing number of them have turned to the booming methamphetamine industry to eke out a living and stave off starvation. Among them is Ahmad Wali, who lives in the
8am: The Taliban are collecting 600 AFG as tax for every KG of opium smuggled through Nimruz border, Afghanistan. Adding that the price of opium has also increased in domestic markets, sources told Hasht-e Subh on Saturday that drug trafficking under the Taliban administration is carried out legally. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Pul-e-Sokhta, in the west of Kabul, has for more than 20 years been the hub for drug addicts and their dealers in the city, but this week, the area was cleared by police, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) [Taliban] officials said. Khaled Zadran, Kabul Police Command spokesman, said that Pul-e- Sokhta has been completely
Khaama: After taking power last August, the Taliban promised to crack down on narcotics and explicitly ban the production, processing and sale of illicit drugs. On the contrary, the drug trade in Afghanistan did not only remain untouched but boomed to a great extent. The number of drug addicts including men, women and young children
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).
BBC: Afghans are giving their hungry children medicines to sedate them – others have sold their daughters and organs to survive. In the second winter since the Taliban took over and foreign funds were frozen, millions are a step away from famine. “Our children keep crying, and they don’t sleep. We have no food,” Abdul
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
The director of a 1,000-bed rehabilitation center for drug addicts in Kabul says they don’t have enough basic food, medicine, and clothes for patients. Many rehabilitation centers have closed or are struggling to remain open since international charities cut or reduced funding after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
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
Tolo News: Kabul residents said that due to the high prices they cannot buy essential medicine. “Doctors write every prescription for 6,000 or 5,000 Afghani and we are not able financially to buy medicine,” said Basharmal, a Kabul resident. “The price of medicine is high, we cannot buy it but sometimes we buy half,’ said