KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Ministry of Finance says 2,350 cartons of substandard and smuggled medicine have been burned in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.
In a statement released on Wednesday (January 7), the ministry said the medicines were destroyed in accordance with a court order.
According to the statement, the drugs had been seized by customs officials at the Spin Boldak crossing, with the support of Taliban security forces.
The Taliban have banned the import of medicines from Pakistan following tensions with Islamabad and the closure of border crossings by Pakistan.
Despite the ban, there have been reports that some pharmaceutical products continue to enter Afghanistan illegally from Pakistan through smuggling routes.
The closure of border crossings and the suspension of medicine imports from Pakistan have led to a sharp rise in drug prices across Afghan markets.
The Taliban have instructed pharmaceutical trades to use alternative routes to supply the country with essential medicines.
