TEHRAN — Iran has called for increased cooperation with the Taliban in combating drug trafficking, according to Iranian officials. The request was made on Monday during a meeting between an Iranian delegation, led by Deputy Interior Minister Ali Akbar Pour Jamshidian, and a Taliban delegation headed by Abdul Haq Akhund, the Taliban’s deputy minister for counter-narcotics.
“The ban on the cultivation, purchase, and sale of narcotics in Afghanistan was a positive step that, with a comprehensive strategy from the Afghan government (Taliban), could yield even greater results,” he said.
He further stressed that closer collaboration between law enforcement agencies in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan would be an effective approach to tackling drug smuggling.
The Iranian official noted that modern counter-narcotics efforts require scientific strategies and added that Iranian police, equipped with advanced training and technology, could share their expertise with Taliban security forces.
For their part, Taliban officials acknowledged the long-standing presence of the drug trade in Afghanistan. “For the past 45 years, there were no restrictions on the cultivation, purchase, and sale of narcotics in Afghanistan, but in recent years, significant efforts have been made to address the issue,” said Akhund, the Taliban’s deputy counter-narcotics minister.
Despite the Taliban’s pledges to curb the illicit drug trade, a September report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicated that methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years. The report also noted that Taliban crackdowns have had little impact on opium production and the expanding methamphetamine industry.
