Now that the Taliban is in power, the government has set its sights on the Afghan drug underworld. The militant government views all addicts as a stain on the pristine society they wish to set up. Here’s the full story.
Taliban scourges the Afghan drug underworld
Now that the Taliban are unrivaled as the rulers of Afghanistan, the group is all set up to weed out the Afghan drug underworld to remove narcotics addiction and dependence. The battle-hardened fighters cum policemen of the Taliban search Kabul’s drug underworld on their mission to cleanse it. Under Kabul’s busy bridges, between the piles of garbage and brooks of filthy water, huge groups of homeless and drug addict men can be found. These homeless men are addicted to methamphetamines and heroin. However, they are rounded up, battered, and forcibly dragged to treatment centers situated in the city. “They are our countrymen, they are our family and there are good people inside of them. God willing, the people in the hospital will be good with them and cure them,” said a Taliban fighter.
Moreover, this situation provides a new look into the Taliban administration. According to doctors, several of them suffer from mental illnesses. But, the Taliban’s ‘treatment’ is tieing them up and giving them two options- sober up or get ready for the beatings. Health workers do not have much control over these heavy-handed methods. “We are not in a democracy anymore, this is a dictatorship. And the use of force is the only way to treat these people,” said Dr. Fazalrabi Mayar. Dr. Mayar world in one of these treatment facilities. Additionally, he believes that such strict control is underscoring the root problem of addiction.
A deeper look into the drug issue
The Taliban and its fight with drugs are highly complicated. Especially at a time when the nation faces both a humanitarian catastrophe and an imminent economic collapse. According to them, drug use is against the Islamic doctrine. Additionally, addicts are highly stigmatized in Afghan’s conservative society. However, before being hollowed out by the days of way, hunger and invasion, the country was full of merchants, poets, farmers, and soldiers.
Additionally, the country’s poppy fields source the majority of the world’s heroin. Hence, the meth provider nation has fueled a massive addiction across the country. While the Taliban profited from drug trafficking and taxing during their insurgency, it has always denied having links with the drug trade. A study by David Mansfield, an Afghan drug trade expert reveals that they made over $20 million in 2020 alone.