According to the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, as the value of narcotics is getting higher in the region, narcotics demand and price is increasingly getting high in the prohibited international market. Currently, the campaign against narcotics and intoxicating drinks is more severe in Afghanistan and expediting the struggle can bring remarkable impacts to the illicit drug trade and narcotic industries.
Zarar Ahmad “Muqbel” Minister of Counter Narcotics stated that narcotics price has risen three times than past few years.
Regretfully the increment of price can indirectly encourage farmers and drug-traffickers to cultivate and produce narcotics while the Afghan government faces tough challenges to control it across the country.
Meanwhile, he said, “the Afghan government renovated the Drug Control Strategy and will adopt strict measures in order to tackle drug increment issues from across the country as well as it will impart a serious warning to those engaging in cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotic drugs.”
The farmers are the focus of this strategy and will be detained and punished for their unlawful cultivation. The Government has convicted several farmers in different provinces for growing illicit plant on their acres.
The conviction of drug-traffickers is a very important measure in order to decrease narcotics and hopefully government with the partnership of International countries will achieve success in the conviction of drug-traffickers and dealers in Afghanistan. Based on published reports a great number of drug suspects were successfully convicted to punishment by the relevant organizations.
ISAF forces advertised that drug seizures and serious Narco-crimes have enhanced much more in 2011 than one year ago and also several drug-traffickers are brought in to justice for punishment while local and international media keeps on spreading news in the region, indicating a severe struggle with the drug-traffickers.
Over the past one decade, the Afghan government has been fighting strictly to exterminate narcotics in Afghanistan and allocated more budget from international cooperation for eradication of illicit plant even though it has established a separate ministry of counter narcotics and Criminal Justice Task Force for conducting a joint process on the conviction of drug-offences.
Despite these independent organs working hard to reduce narcotics in Afghanistan, there are several provinces cultivating narcotics that dampen the efforts and endeavor applied over the past years as well as drawing the concern of the Afghan government and donor countries. The authorities did always emphasize security concerns in the country and stated that Taliban insurgents are benefitting from insecure regions in the cultivation and production of narcotics.
Based on official reports, the high value of narcotics are cultivated in five provinces in Afghanistan, such as Helmand, Kandahar, Farah, Uruzgan and Badghis, where there are insecurity concerns.
Also the Ministry of Interior issued a report indicating that 17 provinces are free from narcotics and 6 other provinces are going to be free from narcotic cultivation in the near future.
The Afghan government has allocated more development budget and cooperation for narco-cleansed provinces where insecurity issues have been also tackled. The Afghan government is committed to reconstruct and enhance public utilities in the provinces attempting to have a safe haven free from narcotics. Furthermore it has promised to award one million dollars to cleansed provinces in order to strengthen the economic basis for social programs.