ISLAMABAD/KABUL: The Taliban government on Saturday announced a ban on the cultivation of hemp and cannabis across Afghanistan.
According to a decree issued by Taliban emir Hibatullah Akhundzada, cannabis cultivation of is prohibited across Afghanistan. In case of a violation, the poppy plantation will be demolished, and violators will be punished according to Islamic rules.
Taliban announces to destroy cannabis cultivation
“Cultivation in the whole country is completely prohibited, and if anyone grows them, the plantation would be destroyed. The Afghan courts have also been instructed to punish the violators as per Islamic Sharia laws,” said a statement issued by the Taliban leader.
Cannabis is the most produced crop by farmers nationwide, and Afghanistan became its main supplier in 2010.
Afghanistan had long been one of the globe’s largest producers of opium, the raw ingredient of cannabis and heroin, with massive cultivation in half of its provinces.
Between 10,000 and 24,000 hectares of cannabis were grown every year in Afghanistan, with main cultivation in 17 out of 34 provinces, according to a 2010 report by the United Nations Drug Agency (UNODC).
The illegal cannabis and opium trade was said to have fueled militancy in the country before the Taliban’s emergence to power in 2021 following a 20-year insurgency against United States-led forces who invaded the country following the 11 Sept 2001 attacks on the United States.
Before coming into power, the Taliban were reported to have earned millions of dollars from the poppy trade by imposing taxes on cannabis farmers and smugglers in return for ensuring the safe passage of the drug.
Afghanistan’s cannabis and opium trade has adversely affected neighbouring nations, including Pakistan, where tonnes of illegal drugs are smuggled annually across the border.
