Taliban Rejects UN Report on Increase in Drug Cultivation in Afghanistan

DID Press: Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban-run Ministry of Interior, has rejected a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), saying it does not accurately reflect the current state of drug cultivation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said its Deputy Ministry for Counter-Narcotics had cleared 26,000 hectares of land of drug cultivation during the current year. It claimed that following these operations, drug cultivation had been reduced to almost zero.

The statement also said there was a substantial discrepancy between the assessments of the ministry’s counter-narcotics department and those of UNODC.

The Ministry of Interior stressed that international expert reports should be free from political considerations and reflect conditions on the ground in an impartial manner.

The Taliban’s response comes after UNODC reported in its latest assessment that drug cultivation in Afghanistan had increased severalfold this year.