The world has a shared interest in helping Afghan farmers move on from poppy. But time and again, it has abandoned them and the young Afghans killed by the poisonous harvest to their fate.
Recoveries indicate shift in smuggling of narcotics from India-Pakistan border into state, with smugglers veering more towards pushing 'Ice' or crystal meth than heroin or ‘chitta’.
The report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also found that farmers' income from opium sales have tripled to $1.4 billion in 2022, from $425 million in 2021.
Uncertainty after Taliban takeover of Afghanistan pushed up opium prices in August & September 2021. But output is up by 8% and incentives for cultivation have risen, report adds.
Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in Afghanistan, and with no vaccine and scant medical resources people are turning to older remedies in the hopes of beating the pandemic.
Poppy farmers say opium harvest is drying up due to which their produce is losing weight and this can lead to cancellation of their cultivation licence.
John Kapoor, the Amritsar-born Indian American & founder of pharma company Isys, was sentenced for leading a conspiracy that led to the opioid crisis in the US.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
opium and poppy was from the americans as the afghan lands are quite fertile… only to prevent their own population from death by consuming fentanyl, the americans during their occupation support the drugs heavily…now taliban has imposed a ban an its almost non existent – the optium n poppy!! much of the afghan population was destroyed due to this menace of drugs during the occupation period..
opium and poppy was from the americans as the afghan lands are quite fertile… only to prevent their own population from death by consuming fentanyl, the americans during their occupation support the drugs heavily…now taliban has imposed a ban an its almost non existent – the optium n poppy!! much of the afghan population was destroyed due to this menace of drugs during the occupation period..