Afghan religious scholars, non government organizations (NGO), farmers and youth groups joined forces to launch a drug awareness program in Afghanistan’s northern Mazar-e-Sharif district of Balkh province.
The campaign aims to inform people of the disadvantages of using, cultivating, producing and trafficking drugs.
Deputy Minister of Anti Narcotics Mohammad Zaher Azhar, who attended the campaign, said his ministry will begin a drug eradication campaign in the northern province very soon and asked the international community to be aware of the problem before it gets out of control. “It is better for the international community to pay serious attention in this regard [now]. Once it changes to global disaster then it will difficult to control it,” Azhar said at the ceremony to launch the drug awareness campaign.
Meanwhile, some farmers said that the lack of education, healthcare, and employment opportunities have caused young people to leave the country and they more easily get addicted to drugs. “We have no access to schools and hospitals. Our young people are travelling to other countries in search of jobs and they get addicted there,” said a farmer who attended the launch.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Anti Narcotics said that more than 130,000 acres of opium cultivated lands were destroyed last year.
In a separate story, a joint anti-drug operation launched by Afghan, US and Russian Special Forces has seen four centers of drug centers destroyed and 67 people were arrested.
The operation was denied by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior.
