Taliban Restore Order Following Opium Poppy Protests in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban announced on Tuesday that they successfully calmed protests in a northern province stemming from security forces’ crackdown on opium poppy cultivation. This cultivation serves as a vital source of income for many struggling farmers in the region.

According to a WhatsApp message from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban officials were convening meetings in Badakhshan following a series of protests that resulted in the deaths of two individuals.

According to Mujahid, a delegation from Kabul, headed by the defense chief of staff, will be traveling to Badakhshan this week to investigate. This marks a rare official acknowledgment of civil disturbance since the Taliban regained power in 2021.

Since then, they have vowed to restore control over the entire war-torn nation and have at times forcefully broken up protests in urban areas, especially against decisions that restrict women from education and many workplaces.

“The Badakhshan issue can be solved,” Mujahid said.

“Two of our countrymen lost their lives during the clashes, their rights will be observed,” he said, adding that authorities would meet with relatives and make a decision over compensation for their deaths.

International research firm Alcis released research based on satellite data last year showing there had been a drastic reduction of opium production in most provinces between 2022 and 2023, often by more than 90 percent. However, it noted that in Badakhshan, the amount of land used for poppy growing had grown.

Mujahid did not elaborate on the cause of the deaths. Local broadcaster Tolo reported that the two had been killed as the protests became violent and security forces opened fire late last week.

Zabihullah Amiri, head of the Taliban-run provincial government’s media department, said that an official delegation from the provincial capital had travelled to the two districts to hold meetings and that the areas were now “under control”.

“They accepted the legitimate demands of the people, at the moment, there are no issues in Argo and Darayim districts,” he said.

“The people and area are under the control of security forces, and the latest update is that people have committed to cooperating with security forces to eradicate poppy cultivation.”

The Taliban seized power in 2021 as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after a 20-year war launched in the weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.

In 2022, the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader ordered a ban on narcotics cultivation in the world’s then-top opium producer.

Many Afghan landowners and labourers rely on growing opium poppies, especially in the Taliban’s historic heartland in the south.

Badakhshan shares a border with Tajikistan and China, with which the Taliban are trying to improve economic links.

The province’s population is predominantly ethnically Tajik, in contrast to the Taliban, most of whose top leaders are ethnically Pashtun, which can exacerbate ethnic tensions despite Taliban promises they will govern the country in the interest of all Afghans.

(Reuters)