Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior Affairs has called on the United Nations and the international community to condemn drug cultivation and production in Pakistan, saying that narcotics grown and processed in Balochistan are smuggled to other countries, including Afghanistan.

Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told Ariana News on Tuesday that thousands of hectares in Pakistan’s Balochistan province are used to cultivate narcotic crops. He also claimed that drugs produced in Pakistan are of low quality and pose serious risks to human health.

Qani urged international bodies to take action to prevent drug cultivation, production and trafficking.

Afghanistan’s state-owned Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation has signed a AFN 1 billion contract with private company Paktia Mawoj to develop a water supply project expected to benefit around 50,000 families in Kabul’s 17th Police District.

Mohammad Nabi Bahar, spokesperson for the General Directorate of State-Owned Companies, said the project will combine surface water from the Shah wa Arus Dam with supplies from five deep wells.

The system is designed to provide a total of 200 litres of water per second, comprising 100 litres per second from the dam and another 100 litres per second from the wells.

Bahar said the project is expected to be completed and handed over for public use within three years.

The initiative aims to strengthen water supply infrastructure in the 17th district and improve residents’ access to drinking water.

With an estimated investment of AFN 1 billion, the project represents a major planned infrastructure development for the Afghan capital.