Clerics help enforce IEA’s opium ban

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has asked clerics to spread awareness about the ban on the cultivation of poppies and drug trade.

The Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs have set up a joint team for the enforcement of the supreme leader’s decree on the poppy ban which was announced in April this year.

The delegation says there are adequate funds for the fight against poppy cultivation.

“Poppy cultivation has become zero. Helicopters destroyed poppy fields even on the mountains of Badakhshan province. Likewise, mosques and media spread awareness about the ban in all 34 provinces of the country,” said Hashmatullah Haqiq, a member of the joint team.

Hafizullah Mabror, deputy head of counter-narcotics department of Herat police, said that IEA forces are working day and night to enforce the opium ban decree.

Herat has the second highest number of drug addicts after Kabul.

“The government is responsible to treat drug addicts using its resources or with the help of aid agencies,” said Mohammad Noor Rahmani, the imam of the Great Mosque of Herat.

Abdul Wahab Rahmani, head of provincial directorate of hajj and religious affairs in Herat, said: “When clerics lead from the front, it will increase public trust and use of drugs among youths will decline.”