The IE issued an order in April 2022, according to which, a strict ban on narcotics was imposed and farmers were warned to be punished in case of violation.
Recently, the British Telegraph newspaper in its report considered the Interim government’s fight against narcotics in Afghanistan successful and said that the poppy harvest has decreased by 80 percent compared to last year in the country.
The report reads: “Last year, the poppy harvest in Afghanistan decreased by 80 percent as the Taliban destroyed most of the poppy crops and punished poppy farmers and criminals.”
According to the report, last year, four-fifths of Afghanistan’s poppy was cultivated in Helmand, and it appears from satellite images that poppy was planted on 320,000 acres of land in this province last year. But this year, the amount has decreased to 2500 acres.
The report reads: “Around four-fifths of Afghanistan’s poppy was produced in Helmand. According to the satellite images, only about 2,500 acres of poppy were planted this year, while last year, poppy was planted on an estimated 320,000 acres of land.”
Harry Shapiro, a British drug expert, in a conversation with the Telegraph newspaper, called the Interim Government’s fight against drugs the most successful in human history.
She added: “The fight against drugs by the Taliban is one of the most successful efforts in the history of mankind, but I think the concern will be if heroin is significantly reduced and by next year it will be on the market, more fentanyl will enter the system. If fentanyl and other similar substances are marketed, death will increase instead of addiction. People don’t get addicted to heroin for a few days, but the first use of fentanyl its last one.”
The Telegraph report also expressed concern that many Afghans will become unemployed and be forced to leave their country due to the fight against poppy.
Although the Interim Government has not yet reacted to the report, it has already said that it will give enough and productive seeds to the farmers as an alternative to poppy.
