‘Afghans losing war on drugs’

Kabul /AFP

Afghanistan is losing a multi-billion dollar war on drugs as it combats terrorism, a minister warned, denouncing a lack of political will and dwindling foreign aid to fight narcotics.
The comments from Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, deputy minister of interior for counter-narcotics, come after the UN last week reported a 10 percent jump in opium cultivation this year to the third-highest level in more than two decades.
High levels of cultivation meant the estimated opium production soared 43 percent to 4,800 tons, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said, underscoring a “worrying reversal” in efforts to combat the scourge of drugs.
“Three years ago 20 provinces were poppy-free. Now only 13 are poppy-free,” Ahmadi told AFP in a recent interview, citing UN data.
“The government is too busy fighting against terrorism and the Taliban and is losing the battle against drugs —but everything is interconnected.”
Pink-and-white poppy blooms, which in some areas grow within eyeshot of government buildings, help bankroll the Taliban’s nationwide insurgency and threaten the existence of the Afghan state.
International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, with little results.