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Countering Narcotics in Helmand a Failure
 [Tolo News] According to the Deputy Minister of Counter Narcotics in the Ministry of Interior (MoI), Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, more than 50 percent of Afghan poppy is cultivated in southern Helmand...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province. Ahmadi raised apprehensions over the implementation of programs for counter-narcotics, stating that the initiatives to eliminate poppy cultivation have not been effective in the past few years. "The government and the ministry [MoI] have put efforts to bring the level of narcotic cultivation down. But unfortunately, the programs have not succeeded." Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit. Y'got the wrong guy!he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed... Gen. Assadullah Shirzad, commander of the Afghan special police forces, stated that the forces discovered and burned 15 tons of narcotics in Helmand on Wednesday, adding that 53 people have been tossed in the calaboose Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! in relation to the case. "We arrested 53 gunnies in relation to the case; they have been introduced and surrendered to the legal and judicial organs," he said. Counter-narcotics efforts in Helmand, one of the most insecure provinces in the country, have constantly faced failure. Providing funding for insurgency, the opium trade has contributed to the deteriorating security in the province. Posted by: Fred 2014-10-10 |
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