Kabul, Dec 18 (EFE). - The United Nations (UN) has denounced the rise in drug trafficking on the borders of Afghanistan and pointed out that the ban on poppy cultivation (from which opium is extracted) imposed by the de facto Taliban government in 2022 has displaced production and sales towards that border area. “Cases have been reported in which, to compensate for the reduction in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, production has been extensively relocated to the other side of the border, where Afghan drug networks are demonstrating resilience by relocating farmers and equipment,” affirms a report from this month from the United Nations (UN). This relocation of cultivation, according to the document, also represents a potential benefit for groups considered terrorist by the UN, including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, as they could take advantage of the income from poppy. The UN also denounced that drug trafficking continues to dominate the informal economy in Afghanistan, sustaining networks of traffickers, criminal organizations and some state actors despite the Taliban regime's anti-drug policy. “The drug trade continues to dominate the informal economy in Afghanistan. This business maintains a wide network of traffickers, criminal organizations and even some state actors that obtain economic benefits,” the report states. According to the same document, although the ban on poppy cultivation reduced the volume of opioids trafficked from Afghanistan, an increase in the production of synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine, has been recorded. The area cultivated with poppy in 2025 was estimated at 10,200 hectares, 20% less than in 2024 and well below the 232,000 hectares quantified in 2022. Consequently, opium production decreased in 2025 with a 32% drop compared to 2024, to a total estimated 296 tons. The drop in cultivation has also been felt in the income of farmers from the sale of opium, which fell by 48%, from 260 million dollars in 2024 to 134 million in 2025. After the ban decreed by the Taliban, many farmers decided to plant cereals and other products, but droughts and little rain have left more than 40% of the country's agricultural land uncultivated. At the same time, the return of about four million Afghans—around 10% of the total population—has intensified competition for jobs and resources, which, combined with the reduction in humanitarian aid, could make opium cultivation attractive again, according to UN fears.
