The Taliban generated upwards of $400 million selling the narcotic between 2018 and 2019. But in what seems to be a shift in policies, the Taliban have now banned opium cultivation in Afghanistan.
In a proclamation released on Sunday, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada declared the production of poppy, the source of sap that is processed into morphine and heroin, illegal, completing the Taliban's commitment to abolish the drug after gaining control last year. In 2021, Afghanistan is expected to contribute 90 percent of the worldwide opium trade.
On Sunday, Taliban deputy spokesperson Inamullah Samangani tweeted, "If anyone violates the decree, the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to Sharia law."
Furthermore, the ruling militant organization has outlawed the use, transit, sale, export, and import of all narcotics and alcohol.
According to Reuters' informants in the Taliban, the militant group expects fierce i...