The Khaama Press News Agency reported on October 20 that according to the Office of the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), millions of destitute Afghan farmers and laborers depend on income from the cultivation of opium poppies.
This reportedly presents the biggest obstacle to the Taliban’s narcotics prohibition.
SIGAR has issued a warning concerning the consequences of outlawing drug cultivation in Afghanistan based on reports from India, Tajikistan, and the US that drug trafficking has increased since the Taliban took power.
Millions of farmers are reportedly experiencing tough hardships without any other option to earn a living, in severe unemployment conditions, as a result of the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah’s official order to ban the cultivation, smuggling, buying, and selling of narcotics in March of this year.
After the Taliban took control, the embargo and suspension of international aid increased dependence on opium cultivation income, according to a report by SIGAR on Wednesday, October 19, which cited the US Department of State.
Drug trafficking has reportedly increased recently, according to India, which claims that it started to rise after the previous Afghan government was ousted.
The cultivation and trafficking of drugs have nearly doubled since the Taliban took power, according to the Tajik Ministry of Interior, who made the statement at the international and regional conference on combating terrorism.
This comes as the Taliban have repeatedly asked for assistance from the international community despite the fact that they lack any programs to pay for the price of alternative crops.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is the U.S. government's leading oversight authority on Afghanistan reconstruction. Congress created the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to provide independent and objective oversight of the Afghanistan Reconstruction funds.
