The deputy minister of Counter Narcotics, Abdul Haq Hamkar, said that at least 1,100 drug factories have been demolished since the return of the Islamic Emirate to power.

In an interview with TOLOnews, Hamkar said that over 20,000 counternarcotics raids happened, in which more than 13,000 people have been arrested within the same period.

“Around 20,700 operations have been conducted, in which 13,700 people have been arrested and introduced to the Supreme Court,” he said.

According to Hamkar, based on the decree of the Islamic Emirate’s leader, the cultivation and production of drugs in Afghanistan has dropped.

He also criticized the international community for not taking practical steps to help Afghanistan counter narcotics.

“The cultivation was demolished. We assure everyone that the poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is eliminated,” Hamkar said.

He said that over 3 million drug addicts are currently in Afghanistan and that more than 100,000 of them have been collected by the interim government.

“We have collected and treated the drug addicts who didn’t have shelters. Some of them now have good lives and are at home,” Hakmar said.

The deputy minister for counternarcotics said that approximately 15,000 hectares of land have been cleared poppy cultivation and cannabis for hashish.