Modern Diplomacy: After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the Afghan state and the public rapidly declined. The country’s territories have become the source of international terrorism and many global problems. In addition to the economic decline, there has been a rise in drug production in Afghanistan. Drugs are one of the Taliban’s main income
8am: Taliban officials have called the release of Haji Bashir Ahmad Noorzai, known as Haji Bashar, as a sign of American goodwill and a “new chapter in the relations” between the Taliban and the United States. Haji Bashar is known in the media and political circles as the godfather of Afghanistan’s drug mafia. It is
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 19, 2022 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban Monday freed Mark Frerichs, the only American hostage remaining in Afghanistan, in exchange for a Taliban drug lord, Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told reporters in Kabul the prisoner swap between his
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
8am: According to residents, Pas Hesar area in the 1st security district of Ghazni city has become one of the safe havens for drug addicts. Since the Taliban regime came to power in August last year, the number of drug addicts has increased in Afghanistan compared to last year. Click here to read more (external
Al Jazeera: Drug addiction has long been a problem in Afghanistan, the world’s biggest producer of opium and heroin and now a chief source of methamphetamine. Drug use has been driven by persistent poverty and decades of war that left few families unscarred. It appears to be getting worse since the country’s economy collapsed following
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
8am: Vladimir Kulishov, Russian First Deputy Chief of the Federal Security Service (FSB), has said that the volume of drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Central Asian countries has doubled since 2021, specifically, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. According to Mr. Kulishov, last year, 3,500 tons of narcotics were seized in the Republic of
Tolo News: The Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s “fastest-growing drug industry operates from desert outposts in plain view.” The Islamic Emirate has yet to comment in reaction to the report. The report said that the meth industry is “growing at breakneck speed, stoking fears among Western experts and officials that, under the Taliban, Afghanistan could
8am: Local sources say the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has boosted opium markets and has encouraged poppy farmers to increase production and turn more lands into poppy cultivation fields. Click here to read more (external link).