Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that narcotics have inflicted tremendous harm and damage upon Afghanistan and its identity. In a meeting with Uri Fedotov, the Executive Director for the United Nations Office on Crimes and Drugs (UNODC), President Karzai said that drug trafficking and international terrorism were inextricably linked. He also emphasized that most of those involved in the trafficking business are not Afghans. 

The UNODC head discussed a number of issues related to the efforts required for fighting the meance of illicit drugs in Afghanistan. President Karzai appreciated UN efforts and its cooperation in the fight against production and trafficking of narcotics in Afghanistan. He said, Afghan government has the political will to combat the scourge, but it was not possible for one country to fight the menace on its own. He also stressed need for a strong international co-operation and concerted efforts for effectively containing the threat.

Afghanistan produces nearly 90 per cent of the world's illicit opiates. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) there are more than 1 million drug users in the country. Five per cent of Afghanistan’s population is involved in opium poppy cultivation. While Afghanistan is paying too high a price for it, many other countries of the world are also threatened by the illicit drugs produced in Afghanistan.

Decade long efforts by the Afghan government and the UN agencies could not eliminate this threat completely. The new country programme for Afghanistan considers elimination of illicit Afghan opiate, a common and shared responsibility of countries in the region as well as of the whole world. It is hoped that the new approach adopted by the United Nations will help Afghanistan to get rid of this menace.

Afghanistan government has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the launching a country-wide programe to free Afghanistan of the manace of narcotics. Afghanistan’s Minister of Counter Narcotics Zarar Ahmad Muqbel Osmani and Uri Fedotov, head of UNODC signed an agreement in Kabyl yesterday.

Later addressing a press conference Mr Osmani said Afghanistan has made some progress in fighting the menace of narcotics but still much needs to be done. Emphasising the importance of the co-operation of regional countries in this task he said narcotics are a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the region as well as the whole world.

Describing narcotics a threat for Afghanistan and the whole world Uri Fedotov, Director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime called for co-operation between the countries of the world.