RASC News Agency: The Japanese government has announced a $10 million aid package for Afghanistan, aimed at supporting alternative livelihoods to poppy cultivation and providing treatment, rehabilitation, and integration services for drug addicts. In a message released on Thursday, July 4th, by the Japanese Embassy in Kabul, the funds will be handed over to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This budget will focus on the most vulnerable communities in the provinces of Badakhshan, Helmand, and Kandahar.
The Japanese Embassy stated, “We continue to support the Afghanistani people’s efforts in combating drug abuse.” Previously, the United Nations Development Program highlighted that Afghanistan has around four million drug users. Under Taliban control, the country has one of the highest levels of drug use globally.
In related news, the “Times of Central Asia” reported on the trafficking of drugs from Afghanistan, estimating that about 15 tons of opium and 80 tons of heroin are trafficked annually through the Pamir Highway to Central Asia. The most critical point for traffickers is the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, a remote mountainous area.
The report noted that while the previous Afghanistan government had little control over these mountainous routes, the Taliban and local traffickers have maintained influence in the border regions of Central Asia, including along the Pamir Highway, for years.
