
Taliban Declare a Ban on Open Trade of Opium in Kandahar
The Taliban banned the opium trade in Kandahar. Maiwand district market in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province traditionally served as one of the main opium markets for residents of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Local sources said Wednesday the Taliban informed all shopkeepers and drug dealers in Kandahar’s Maiwand district market of this decision two days ago. The Taliban stressed that opium dealers could not be able to do their business openly from now on.
The Taliban have said that this restriction was imposed by the order of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the extremists’ supreme and secretive leader.
Since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan, the market of Maiwand district of Kandahar had served as the main center to openly buy and sell drugs, particularly opium.