Taliban Rejects SIGAR Report on Drug Trade in Afghanistan
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior rejected a recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on Wednesday, calling it baseless.
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior rejected a recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on Wednesday, calling it baseless.
The SIGAR report claimed that the Taliban has not acted against opium reserves in Afghanistan, leading to a doubling of the drug's price.
The Taliban claimed that since their return to power, drug cultivation, sale, and trafficking have been eliminated for the first time in decades.
The group’s Ministry of Interior stated, "The latest SIGAR report is baseless. For the first time in several decades, the phenomenon of drugs has been eradicated across the country."
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior also emphasised that no one would be permitted to cultivate poppy.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime confirmed in its latest report that while poppy cultivation has decreased, the production and sale of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine have increased.
SIGAR accused the Taliban of failing to address existing opium reserves in Afghanistan. The organisation reported that traders and farmers are involved in storing opium and inflating its price. SIGAR noted that while poppy cultivation has decreased, the value of opium has doubled since the ban on poppy cultivation was enacted.
The Daily Telegraph previously reported that Afghan farmers are covertly cultivating poppies in response to rising narcotic prices. According to the Telegraph, the price of opium has surged from £30 per kilo to £800-£1,000 since the Taliban's takeover, with some senior Taliban officials reportedly benefiting from this increase.
Taliban officials, speaking anonymously to the British newspaper, suggested that the ban on poppy cultivation might be aimed at raising opium prices, thereby enabling officials with hidden opium reserves and secret poppy fields to "accumulate more wealth”.
SIGAR, which does not have an office in Afghanistan, compiled its report based on findings from other organisations, including the United Nations.
