Drug control has been one major demand of the international community in order to wind down sanctions
03 April 2022 - 20:59
byCharlotte Greenfield and Jibran Ahmad
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
An Afghan man works in a poppy field in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Picture: REUTERS
Kabul/Peshawar — The Taliban announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world’s biggest opium producer.
“As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country,” according to an order from the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.
“If anyone violates the decree, the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Sharia law,” the order, announced at a news conference by the ministry of interior in Kabul, said.
The order said the production, use or transportation of other narcotics was also banned.
Drug control has been one major demand of the international community of the Islamist group, which took over the country in August and is seeking formal international recognition in order to wind back sanctions that are severely hampering banking, business and development.
The Taliban banned poppy growing towards the end of their last rule in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts.
Afghanistan’s opium production — which the UN estimated was worth $1.4bn at its height in 2017 — has increased in recent months, farmers and Taliban members told Reuters.
The country’s dire economic situation has prompted residents of southeastern provinces to grow the illicit crop that could bring them faster and higher returns than legal crops such as wheat.
Taliban sources said they were anticipating tough resistance from some elements within the group against the ban on poppy and that there had been a surge in the number of farmers cultivating poppy in recent months.
A farmer in Helmand who spoke on condition of anonymity said that in recent weeks prices of poppy had already more than doubled on rumours the Taliban would ban its cultivation. But he added that he needed to grow poppy to support his family.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Taliban bans lucrative opium poppy cultivation
Drug control has been one major demand of the international community in order to wind down sanctions
Kabul/Peshawar — The Taliban announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world’s biggest opium producer.
“As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country,” according to an order from the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.
“If anyone violates the decree, the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Sharia law,” the order, announced at a news conference by the ministry of interior in Kabul, said.
The order said the production, use or transportation of other narcotics was also banned.
Drug control has been one major demand of the international community of the Islamist group, which took over the country in August and is seeking formal international recognition in order to wind back sanctions that are severely hampering banking, business and development.
The Taliban banned poppy growing towards the end of their last rule in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts.
Afghanistan’s opium production — which the UN estimated was worth $1.4bn at its height in 2017 — has increased in recent months, farmers and Taliban members told Reuters.
The country’s dire economic situation has prompted residents of southeastern provinces to grow the illicit crop that could bring them faster and higher returns than legal crops such as wheat.
Taliban sources said they were anticipating tough resistance from some elements within the group against the ban on poppy and that there had been a surge in the number of farmers cultivating poppy in recent months.
A farmer in Helmand who spoke on condition of anonymity said that in recent weeks prices of poppy had already more than doubled on rumours the Taliban would ban its cultivation. But he added that he needed to grow poppy to support his family.
“Other crops are just not profitable,” he said.
Reuters
Pakistan’s Imran Khan blocks no-confidence vote and calls for elections
Taliban changes tack and orders girls’ high schools to stay closed
UN says nearly 400 civilians killed in Afghanistan since Taliban took over
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Afghan start-ups ‘running on fumes’
Afghan women most at risk for job losses as Taliban revokes rights
UN says Taliban hardliners are behind killings and erosion of women’s rights
Taliban’s decree barring forced marriages welcomed, but Afghan women hope for ...
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.