Most drugs entering Afghanistan smuggled from Pakistan: Taliban

Most narcotics entering Afghanistan, including traditional and synthetic drugs, are being smuggled from Pakistan across the border, the Taliban's Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani has claimed, urging Islamabad to step up efforts to stop the trafficking.

Qani told media outlets affiliated with the Taliban that its forces had intensified efforts to prevent drug smuggling. He also called on the international community to pressure Pakistan to stop narcotics trafficking into Afghanistan and other Asian countries.

He claimed that drug cultivation in Afghanistan had fallen to almost zero, saying the Taliban administration had fulfilled its responsibilities in combating narcotics.

The remarks come amid reports of a recent rise in poppy cultivation in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Following the Taliban's ban on drug cultivation in Afghanistan, parts of Balochistan have reportedly emerged as growing centres for poppy production.

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Pakistani authorities have yet to respond to Qani's latest remarks.

A report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in July 2026 found that Afghanistan's opium production had plunged by 95% after the Taliban enforced a ban on poppy cultivation. The country had accounted for around 80% of global illicit opium production until 2022.

According to the report, the area under poppy cultivation fell from around 232,000 hectares in 2022 to 10,200 hectares in 2025. Opium production also dropped from 6,200 tonnes to approximately 296 tonnes over the same period.

However, the United Nations warned that existing opium stockpiles in Afghanistan were expected to last until the end of 2026.

Source: Afghanistan International