Afghanistan Times
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AT News Report-KABUL: Anti-drugs campaign in southern Helmand province has been underway, resulting in destroying a number of Taliban owned drugs labs, but dozens of dozen drugs factories and traffickers are still operating in the province, Ariana News has reported.
According to the provincial administration of Helmand province, anti-drugs operation has extended to other parts of the province, at least 40 drugs labs have been destroyed during the past two months. Prior to this joint military campaign by the Afghan and US forces was kicked off in Helmand and a number of Taliban’s drug labs were bombed.
Commenting on the anti-drugs campaign, Helmand’s Provincial Governor Hayatullah Hayat, said “We destroyed dozens of drugs labs and killed traffickers and more than 100 Taliban militants, involved in this business.”
Based on reports, drugs production factories in hundreds are still operating smoothly in Helmand, despite civil and military campaign against this notorious business—funding terrorism in the country.
Highlighting the importance and objective of anti-drugs campaign, Hayat said opium production and drugs trafficking have been among the major sources, financing militant groups that have been involved in bleeding Afghanistan and undermining US-led NATO interests in the region. Targeting and elimination of terrorists fundraising sources inside and outside the country must be on the top of agenda to win war on terror.
Moreover, the defense ministry said dismantling income streams of terrorist groups would be fruitful in defeating the militants.
“We will target all resources and personnel of the terrorist groups,” said Mohammad Radmanish, Deputy Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.
However, civil society urges the government to publically declare the drug traffickers and trigger them into the court of justice. Social activists and experts are of the opinion that anti-drugs campaign could not reach the objective by bombing only a number of drugs labs, as long as drugs traffickers were not held accountable.
“The government must control major drug traffickers. The intelligence agencies must identify all those groups involved in this business,” said Mia Gul Waseeq, a military analyst.
In the meantime, commenting on the military strikes against drug labs carried out by the Resolute Support Mission and US forces in Helmand Province Gen. John Nicholson, Top US military General, heading US and NATO forces in Afghanistan said the strikes were carried out under new authorities in the current U.S. Afghan strategy.
The Afghan and US forces should gear up their coordinated operations against, opium production, drug labs and the ones, involved in this business, aimed at defusing and defeating terrorism and terror sponsor states.
