KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban authorities in Badakhshan province have announced the arrest of more than 100 farmers for cultivating poppy, the plant used to produce opium.
Shafiqullah Hafizi, the head of the Taliban’s counter-narcotics department in Badakhshan, stated that the detainees were apprehended while planting poppies in villages across several districts, including Argo, Shuhada, and Baharak. During the operation, authorities confiscated 75 mobile phones from the suspects.
The arrested farmers, along with their case files, have been referred to the province’s primary court for prosecution.
This follows an earlier announcement by the Taliban police command in Badakhshan on Saturday, reporting the arrest of 31 individuals from the provincial capital and three districts for similar offenses.
In 2022, the Taliban banned the cultivation of poppy and the production and trade of narcotics, citing efforts to curb the global drug trade. This marked a stark shift, as the group had long financed its insurgency through revenue from the drug trade.
However, millions of Afghan farmers and laborers depend on income from opium cultivation to sustain their livelihoods, creating tension between the ban and economic realities.
Despite the prohibition, opium production in Afghanistan has surged. A recent report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed a 30% increase in opium production this year compared to 2023. The report estimated Afghanistan’s 2024 opium output at 433 tons, with a harvest value of $260 million—a staggering 130% rise from the previous year.
Nevertheless, the overall production remains 93% lower than levels recorded before the Taliban’s 2022 drug ban. The UNODC report also noted a geographic shift in poppy cultivation, which has moved from southern regions to northeastern provinces.
This year, 59% of Afghanistan’s poppy fields were concentrated in the northeast, particularly in Badakhshan, which accounted for two-thirds of the country’s opium production in 2024.
The role of narcotics in Afghanistan’s economy and conflict history remains significant. Over the past two decades, drug trade revenues were a critical source of funding for the Taliban during their insurgency against the previous Afghan government and NATO-led forces.
