Taliban announces ban on cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan

Kabul, Mar 04: In Afghanistan, the Taliban announced yesterday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in the country. According to the order the production, use or transportation of narcotics are banned. Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer.

The ban comes during opium harvesting season in southern Afghanistan, and a Taliban spokesman said that farmers could be jailed and their crops burned if they harvested poppy.

Drug control has been one major demand of the international community of the Islamist group, which took over the country in August and is seeking formal international recognition in order to wind back sanctions that are severely hampering banking, business and development.