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Sharp Rise in Poppy Cultivation Compared to Past Year in Afghanistan
Afghanistan saw a dramatic increase in poppy cultivation this year, a sharp rise owing to favorable weather, growing insecurity and declining international support for counter-narcotics operations, Ministry of Counter Narcotics said.
According to statistics of Ministry of Counter Narcotics, poppy cultivated lands reached to 183 thousand acres in 2015 which the figure increased to 201 thousand acres of land in 2016.
Minister of counter narcotics, Salamat Azimi said, “government ministries have coordination, but we see in increase in poppy cultivation compared to the last year.”
Ministry of Interior says measures in fight against narcotics are not enough.
Deputy of MoI counter narcotics unit, Baz Muhammad Ahmadi said, “the narcotic threats are not less than terrorist threats and corruption. But unfortunately this issue has been marginalized in the recent years.”
The southern restive province of Helmand remained the country’s top poppy cultivating province, followed by Badghis, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nangarhar and Farah – all hotbeds of insurgent activity.
International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts encouraging farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. But those efforts have shown little results.
Addiction levels have also risen sharply — from almost nothing under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime — giving rise to a new generation of addicts since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
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Iran calls for inclusive govt in Afghanistan to avoid Bonn-style conference
Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said that Afghanistan belongs to all Afghans and a government consisting of representatives of all ethnic groups should be established in the country.
“We have clearly stated that Afghanistan is for all Afghans, and if we want to not return to the conditions of Bonn, we must pay attention to this issue,” Qomi said while addressing Afghan refugees in Qom city, ISNA news agency reported.
The envoy emphasized that Iran, while engaging with the Islamic Emirate, also gives its advice to the new rulers of Afghanistan.
“A government consisting of righteous people from all ethnic groups can be the key to political stability and the beginning of construction in Afghanistan, which the Islamic Republic is pursuing the same policy,” he said.
Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan also pointed to Daesh and accused the United States of continuing its interventionist and destabilizing policies in Afghanistan and said: “Today the Americans are doing more evil in Afghanistan than in the past.”
Qomi stated that the cost of America’s interventionist policies in the region are borne by the people of Afghanistan.
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IEA seeks broad-based engagement with world: deputy PM
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, said on Saturday that the visit of high-ranking officials of the Islamic Emirate to countries shows that the Islamic Emirate wants to engage with the world, including neighboring and regional countries, based on political, economic and cultural relations.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi, who recently traveled to Russia’s Tatarstan to participate in an international economic meeting.
Azizi said his trip to Russia was full of achievements in the areas of exports and trade, adding that Russian companies and institutions expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan.
He added that he represented the Islamic Emirate well during the visit and assured the participants of the “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum 2024” that there is a good opportunity for investment in Afghanistan.
The 15th edition of Kazan Forum was held in Tatarstan with the participation of representatives of 80 nations to discuss economic and social relations.
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Bus crash kills two, injures 37 on Kabul-Kandahar highway
Two people, including a woman, were killed and 37 others were injured when a bus rolled over on Kabul-Kandahar highway in Zabul province on Saturday night, officials said.
Mirwais Afghan, director of public health in Zabul, said that the incident happened in Karizgi area in Shahf-e-Safa district.
The injured include 26 men and 11 women who were taken to the hospital in the district for treatment.
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