Latest News
Tajikistan sees no drop in drug smuggling from Afghanistan
Tajikistan’s Presidential Drug Control Agency (DCA) says it has not registered any decline in the volume of drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan.
Referring to a recent UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, which stated opium cultivation and production had dropped by 95%, a DCA official Mukbilsho Muyassar told the press that opioids are still flowing into Tajikistan.
“According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan has decreased by 95%, yet opioids, such as heroin and opium, as well as Afghan-made methamphetamine, are still flowing into Tajikistan, with the reason behind this being that Afghan drug manufacturers generate greater profits from methamphetamine production,” he said.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported that according to recent reports by the DCA, clandestine synthetic drug labs have started to emerge in Afghanistan to produce these drugs, which are then smuggled into Tajikistan and later transported to other countries.
The DCA stated that more than 2.5 tons of illicit substances were seized from circulation in regions of Tajikistan bordering on Afghanistan in 2023, accounting for over half of all drugs seized in the Central Asian country last year.
Muyassar also said Tajikistan has received no information on any counter-narcotics efforts being implemented by Afghan authorities.
Last December, Atageldi Yazlyyev, director of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors (CARICC), also said that despite analysts’ estimates of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan plummeting, the center’s statistics indicated an increase in opium trafficking. He attributed this to the need to dispose of reserves from previous years’ harvests.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet responded to this claim by Tajikistan, but it has repeatedly stated that it has taken serious steps to stop the cultivation and production of narcotics.
In April 2022, the Islamic Emirate banned the cultivation of poppy across the country, promising to prosecute violators under Sharia law. A ban was also imposed on “the use, transportation, trade, export and import of all types of narcotic drugs.”
Latest News
Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
Latest News
Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
Latest News
Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
-
Sport4 days agoAfghanistan to face Japan and Nepal in Asian Games cricket group stage
-
Regional5 days agoIran and US trade threats after Houthi attacks escalate regional conflict
-
World4 days agoCNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump, challenging White House ban
-
Health4 days agoFour-day polio vaccination campaign begins across Afghanistan
-
Latest News3 days agoUN reiterates call for respect for international law after Kunar airstrikes
-
Latest News4 days agoKhalilzad condemns Pakistan airstrikes, says current strategy is not working
-
Latest News2 days agoAriana Afghan Airlines ranks seventh among 45 Central Asian airlines
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghan Official: Pakistan’s airstrikes will not go unanswered
