Iran deputy interior minister urges enhanced anti-drug campaign with Afghanistan
Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Ali Akbar Pour Jamshidian says Iran and Afghanistan should increase joint cooperation in the campaign against narcotics.
Jamshidian made the remark in a meeting with an Afghan delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Counter Narcotics, Lieutenant General Mullah Abdul Haq Akhund Hammar, in Tehran on Monday.
“The ban on the cultivation, purchase and sale of narcotics in Afghanistan was a very good action that can lead to greater outcomes with the formulation of a comprehensive strategy by the Afghan government,” Jamshidian said.
Afghan authorities banned all cultivation of opium poppy and all narcotics under strict laws in April 2022.
Back in September, the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) reported that Methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years, despite the Taliban’s pledge to contain the illicit drug trade.
It added that Taliban’s efforts to crack down on the drug trade in the country had little impact, both on the opium production and the burgeoning meth industry.
Jamshidian noted that advancement, peace and development of the Iranian and Afghan governments and nations are intertwined with each other.
He added that close cooperation between police forces of Iran, Afghanistan and subsequently Pakistan would be an appropriate way to combat drug trafficking.
The Iranian official said the anti-drug combat currently requires scientific work, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic’s police, equipped with modern equipment and training, can transfer experience to the Afghan police.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Jamshidian said Iran has been hosting Afghan refugees for years, adding, “The government and people of Iran and Afghanistan have close relations.”
He noted that approximately 4.5 million legal and some two million illegal Afghan migrants are living in Iran, affirming Tehran’s resolve to improve interaction with Kabul and solve bilateral issues.
Akhund Hammar, for his part, said there has been no prohibition on the cultivation, purchase and sale of narcotics in Afghanistan over the past 45 years, but the issue has been largely addressed in recent years.
He also thanked Iran for hosting the Afghan refugees over the past decades.
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