The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction or SIGAR claimed in a report that there has been no decrease in narcotics cultivation in Afghanistan.
SIGAR added that, as in the past, Afghanistan is still the main producer of narcotics, and in 2022, 80 percent of the world’s narcotics came from Afghanistan.
The report reads: “Afghanistan has been the major producer of narcotics in the world for a long time, and since the Taliban seized the political power, there has been no change in this regard. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan produced 80 percent of the world’s drugs in 2022.”
The report further said, the decision of the Interim Government to abolish narcotics is dubious, because after seizing the political power, there has been a 32 percent increment in its production in Afghanistan.
The report reads: “On the April 03, 2022, the Taliban decided to ban the cultivation of opium and other narcotics, and later they also shunned the cultivation of hashish. According to these decisions, they also destroyed drug plantations in some areas publicly, but their original determination in this regard is still questioning, because after August 2021, there has been a 32 percent increase in the cultivation of narcotics.”
The IE denies SIGAR’s recently published report and said the cultivation of poppy and narcotics has been banned throughout Afghanistan and a serious combat against narcotics has been launched.
In addition to the claim, SIGAR added that it still bolsters Afghanistan in the fight against drugs.
According to SIGAR, millions of dollars has been spent to provide information related to drugs until March 2023, in Afghanistan.