Drug mafia must be confronted earnestly, Khalili urges
Thu Jun 21, 12:55 pm
Second Vice President Karim Khalili warns that if the drug mafia is not confronted seriously, all of Afghanistan’s economy will be infected and seriously eroded because of drug money.
Addressing a ceremony on the occasion of World Drug Day in Kabul, Khalili demanded the international community and Afghanistan’s security agencies to identify, arrest, and bring to trial the key drug traffickers in Afghanistan.
Voicing fears about the increasing drug trafficking in the country, Khalili stressed that the drug mafia should be fought earnestly at every level–whether they are in government; in criminal gangs; or wherever they are.
The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, was also present during the ceremony. He demanded stronger efforts to combat illegal drugs and the infrastructures that support their production and distribution.
“Increasing drug production and those who have supported it from 2009 onwards is concerning us. We must once again renew our commitment to combat drug, and we should bring out our cooperation in Afghanistan, the region, and the world to fight illegal drugs,” Ryan Crocker told the gathering on Wednesday in Kabul.
The easy transit of drugs, high demand in foreign countries, lack of employment and continuing insecurity in Afghanistan are considered the main reasons for the high level of production of narcotics in the country, counternarcotics minister Zarar Ahmad Moqbil said, who also attended the ceremony.
According to the officials of counternarcotics ministry, currently 95 percent of the opium produced in Afghanistan comes from 9 unsafe provinces where the government doesn’t possess the necessary ability to stop it.
Based on reports, Afghanistan is by far the biggest opium producer in the world.
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