AVA - Over 800 acres of poppy fields were destroyed by IEA

Anti-narcotics police have destroyed 800 acres of poppy fields in several operations across six provinces.The Ministry of Interior Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA)_Monitoring, The Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Wednesday that 356 acres of land was destroyed in the center and districts of Yaftal-e-Payan, Arghanj Khwa, Kishim and Shahri Buzurg districts of Badakhshan province; 338 acres of land in Gulbahar and Jabal Saraj districts of Parwan province; 62 acres of land in the Darah Sof, in Samangan province; 30 acres of land in Andrab, Doshi and Borka districts of Baghlan province; 8 acres of land in Alisheng district of Laghman province; and 7 acres of land in Manogi district of Kunar province.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, last week said that there is a serious fight underway against the cultivation and trafficking of drugs in an attempt to eradicate all traces of narcotics in the country.

Mujahid emphasized that efforts are being made to prevent drug trafficking, and that since the IEA’s takeover in August 2021, a large number of drug traffickers have been arrested and imprisoned.

“The drug problem in Afghanistan is being solved, this year’s poppy cultivation in the whole country was close to zero, if someone had cultivated in mountainous and remote areas, it was destroyed,” said Mujahid.

“There is also seriousness in the prevention of drug trafficking and every day we witness arrest cases. In the near future, Inshallah, it will reach zero.”

He also assured neighboring countries and the region that they need not be concerned about drug smuggling from Afghanistan but to cooperate with the government and people in the fight against drugs and help find alternative crops to poppies.