Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Opium Production to Escalate

Among the many things that will further worsen after the international troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, is the Afghan opium. Afghanistan is the top most country in opium production as it produces more than 90 percent of world's total opium. The past ten years is a mirror of coming ten years. No success against narcotics is expected.

Last year, the Afghan government reported that about 22 out of 34 provinces of Afghanistan have been cleaned from poppy cultivation. But recent reports talk opposite: after slightly decreasing, the poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is high again due to the soaring demand and price of drugs in the international market. Now, that the international community has diverted all its focus towards withdrawing from Afghanistan and at the same taking preventive measures to avoid Afghanistan move towards its past and become a threat for Europe and America, poppy cultivation and drug trafficking – not gaining any significant attention - is expected to speed up like never before.

The ten-years effort of the international community in Afghanistan has badly failed to counter this country's narcotics. The Afghan Ministry of Anti-narcotics is also suffering from a very pathetic condition as it is helpless against the drug traffickers who are closely linked to high ranking government officials.

The foreign funds (including aids to counter poppy) poured in Afghanistan in the last decade have all fallen in the hands corrupt individuals who secure high positions in government and other sectors of the country.As the international funds are going to diminish in the coming years, cultivation of poppy is strike new heights.

The reason, that why Afghan famers prefer cultivating poppy over other crops is not a secret. Once the crop is ready for harvest, profit will start flowing in. The growers, middlemen, smugglers, retailers except the final consumers of narcotics generate cash from the business and are prospering.

As we are moving ahead in Afghanistan, we will unfortunately, witness greater production of opium. This is going to put lives of more people at stake all over the world. Drugs are killing more people than terrorism does. The responsibility of all these fall on the shoulders of international community and the Afghan government.