The Taliban-led new Afghan government is aiming to cut off all the routes for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to other countries through Russian assistance.
In an interview, the Interim Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of Afghanistan Zabihullah Mujahid said that the Taliban wanted to stop the drug trafficking from Afghanistan adding that the plantation of cannabis is a serious issue of the country and providing an alternative to the farmers is also eminent in this context.
Mujahid added that many countries especially Russia could help them in this regard, that is, in cutting the routes on which these drugs are smuggled.
The official noted that the new Afghan government is not seeking the extradition of former President Ashraf Ghani but urges him to recover the funds allegedly taken by him as they belonged to Afghanistan.
Last month, Ghani left Kabul for the United Arab Emirates after the Afghan was seized by the Taliban.
According to different estimates, the volume of illegal opiate production has surged from almost between 17 to 40 times since 2001, when US troops entered Afghanistan. The US has allocated $8.6 billion since then fighting drug production in Afghanistan, however, the country remains the world’s largest producer of opium.
According to the Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) 2017 report, 328,000 hectares of land in Afghanistan was used for opium and poppy cultivation, surged up to 63 percent as compared to the previous year (2016) which was the highest rate since 2002.
The SIGAR report additionally shows that of the amount of opium produced in Afghanistan last year, 900 tonnes of pure, export-quality heroin can be produced, which could serve as an incentive for the expansion of combat zones throughout Afghanistan.
