Publish dateWednesday 27 June 2012 - 09:42
Story Code : 44005
Narcotics counter needs international efforts
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul, who attended an international counter-narcotics conference in Lima, reaffirmed the Afghanistan's commitment to wage war on narcotics. 

The conference, titled International Conference of Ministers of Foreign Relations and Heads of Specialized National Agencies against the World Drug Problem, brought together foreign ministers and heads of national counter-narcotics agencies from over 60 countries and several international organizations. 

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala opened the one-day conference. 

In his speech, Rassoul reaffirmed Afghanistan's firm determination to continue its national fight against narcotics and contribute to relevant international efforts.

"The drug problem constitutes a serious challenge to the aspirations of the Afghan people for a peaceful, stable and healthy future," Rassoul was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"The government of Afghanistan is strongly committed and has taken specific steps on the national, regional and international levels to combat the world drug problem," he said.

The steps included adopting laws and strengthening relevant law enforcement agencies, eradicating crops, eliminating laboratories, preventing precursors from entering the country, fighting drug trafficking, creating an alternative opportunity for farmers and actively engaging in all regional and international mechanisms and efforts on counter-narcotics, he added.

Rassoul pointed to some of Afghanistan's major achievements in counter-narcotics, saying for the last 10 years, they had made significant progress in the fight against drug production and trafficking. 

"For example, just last year we eradicated 1,925 poppy farms in 719 districts in 14 of our provinces."

"From 2007 to 2010, our statistics show a significant decrease in narcotics cultivation in Afghanistan. We have set up a special tribunal to prosecute individuals involved in drug trade, which has already put dozens of traffickers behind bars," he said.

Rassoul also underlined the sacrifices of the Afghan people in the fight against narcotics over the past decade.
"My country Afghanistan is a prime victim of the drug problem and we pay a heavy price every day in fighting the production and trafficking of illicit drugs," he said.

"Just last year alone, we lost 40 police officers and 92 other Afghan national security personnel were injured in counter-narcotics operations."
"Hundreds of thousands of our citizens – men, women and young children – are direct victims of this international evil."

The foreign minister pointed to the complex nature of the narcotics problem and underlined the need for concerted multilateral counternarcotics efforts.
He also drew attention to the exacerbating factor of precursors in drug production in Afghanistan that all flow from outside the country's borders. "This must be stopped."
Source : Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), International Service
https://avapress.com/vdcen78e.jh8e7ik1bj.html
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