The Qatar government has urged the international community to support Afghanistan in helping former poppy farmers find alternate ways to earn a living.

According to a statement delivered in Vienna by Jassim Yaqoub Al-Hammadi, Qatar’s envoy to the UN, there have been some positive indicators in the global fight against drugs.

He said at the 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs this week that despite an overall bleak picture globally, “there are some positive indicators, such as the sharp decline in opium production in Afghanistan and the ongoing efforts by the Syrian government to dismantle captagon laboratories and destroy the produced stock.”

He called for concerted international efforts to support Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic, particularly in helping Afghan farmers through alternative development programs and supporting domestic economic alternatives to drug cultivation.

Al-Hammadi said Qatar has emphasized that the challenges the world faces today in combating drugs can only be addressed through the implementation of commitments under the three international drug control conventions, ministerial declarations, and support for the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) as the primary policy-making body of the United Nations responsible for drug control affairs.

Afghanistan has long had a history of opium poppy cultivation and harvest. In 2021, Afghanistan’s harvest produced more than 90 percent of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95 percent of the European supply.

The country has been the world’s leading illicit drug producer since 2001.

The Pakistan Army has alleged that the attack on a passenger train in Balochistan this week was orchestrated by militants based in Afghanistan.

The assault on the train, which was carrying 400 passengers, began on Tuesday afternoon and continued until Wednesday. The attack resulted in the deaths of 21 passengers, 33 assailants, and four soldiers. The Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the incident.

In an official statement, the Pakistan Army asserted that during the attack, militants in Afghanistan maintained contact with the assailants via satellite phones.

The statement called on the Islamic Emirate to prevent Afghan soil from being used for attacks against Pakistan.

Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army, also stated on Dunya News TV that Afghanistan supports militants and warned that the recent attack “will change the rules of the game.”

“Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffer Express changes the rules of the game,” he said.

“We cannot allow anyone to target Pakistanis on behalf of their foreign paymasters,” he said, pledging to hunt down those responsible wherever they were.

The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly dismissed Pakistan’s accusations that attacks in the country are being planned from Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Wednesday that the recent remarks to the United Nations Security Council by Pakistan’s envoy to the UN on Afghanistan not being able to control Daesh was “baseless” and that certain parties use such meetings to vent their frustrations.

Fitrat said Afghanistan is a secure country and no unauthorized activities are permitted.

He also stated that Afghanistan’s absence from UN meetings has led to certain countries being able to present a distorted image of the country.

“Unfortunately, different parties use such meetings to vent their frustrations over Afghanistan and try to present a distorted image of the country. The reality is that Afghanistan is a secure country with a unified government in power.

“The Islamic Emirate has control over the entire geography of the country, and there is no unauthorized activity here, nor is it allowed,” said Fitrat.

He added: “Another issue is that the United Nations should recognize Afghanistan’s seat, so that correct judgments can be made in these meetings and no one is provided with an opportunity for malicious propaganda.”

At the UNSC meeting, Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Munir Akram said the IEA has not been very successful in curbing Daesh and that the group has become a serious challenge for Afghanistan’s rulers.

Akram emphasized that the presence of over 20 terrorist groups in Afghanistan poses a threat to the entire region and the world.

He also added that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is active in Afghanistan with about 6,000 fighters and acts as an umbrella for terrorist groups in the region.

However, some experts believe that Pakistan is pursuing a political and security agenda and is using its claim of fighting terrorism to achieve its own objectives.