KABUL (SW) – Iranian media have reported that Iskandar Momeni, the Secretary-General of the Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters, voiced concern over the increase in drug smuggling from Afghanistan to this country.
Based on the report, Momeni emphasized that during the last year, there was a reduction in traditional drug trafficking, however, on the contrary, industrial drug trafficking in Iran has increased by 20%.
Iran’s “Entikhab” Newspaper, quoting this Iranian official, wrote: “Taliban officials who visited Iran stated in the negotiation that the production and cultivation have decreased and the drugs are in the warehouses, and with the terminition of the warehouses, the drug importation would be reduced by 90%.”
Despite Iran’s concerns about drug trafficking from Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate once again reiterates its commitment to prevent drug cultivation, production and trafficking.
Hasibullah Ahmadi, the head of the Anti-Narcotics Office of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of the de-facto government, told Salam Watandar that the Islamic Emirate’s commitment to the fight against narcotics has been proven to the world.
Ahmadi adds that during 23,500 operations across Afghanistan against drug cultivation and production, 14,000 suspects and drug traffickers have been arrested. Likewise, 5,500 tons of drugs and 1,200 drug factories were destroyed.
“The Islamic Emirate is committed to not allowing anyone to cultivate, produce and smuggle drugs. Even so, if someone does something in this field, they will be identified and arrested by the anti-narcotics department and will be handed over to judicial institutions,” he said.
Some experts consider the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to prevent the drug cultivation, production and smuggling to be satisfactory. They believe that some countries are looking to use this matter against Afghanistan by expressing concerns about it.
Aziz Stanekzai, an expert on political and security issues, says: “Mostly behind the concerns raised by the countries like Iran, Russia and Pakistan are the demands of these countries from Afghanistan, which the Taliban have failed to implement.”
Nevertheless the Islamic Emirate has so far not stated any specific statistic about the situation of preventing the production and smuggling of industrial drugs in the country; something that the Iranian government claims its surge.
