Taliban ban poppy cultivation - in pictures

  • A poppy field in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The Taliban's supreme leader issued a decree on April 3 against the cultivation of poppies and other plants that can be used to make narcotics. AFP
    A poppy field in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The Taliban's supreme leader issued a decree on April 3 against the cultivation of poppies and other plants that can be used to make narcotics. AFP
  • Farmers work at a poppy plantation in Kandahar. AFP
    Farmers work at a poppy plantation in Kandahar. AFP
  • Poppy cultivation surged in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. AFP
    Poppy cultivation surged in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. AFP
  • A poppy farmer in Kandahar collects sap from the plants' seed capsules. The sap is the raw material for drugs such as opium, heroin and morphine. AFP
    A poppy farmer in Kandahar collects sap from the plants' seed capsules. The sap is the raw material for drugs such as opium, heroin and morphine. AFP
  • Taliban Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, left, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani attend a ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
    Taliban Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, left, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani attend a ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
  • The Taliban deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics, Abdul Haq Hamkar, speaks at the ceremony in Kabul. EPA
    The Taliban deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics, Abdul Haq Hamkar, speaks at the ceremony in Kabul. EPA
  • Mr Haqqani arrives for the ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
    Mr Haqqani arrives for the ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
  • The ban was announced as Afghan farmers began harvesting their poppy fields. AFP
    The ban was announced as Afghan farmers began harvesting their poppy fields. AFP
  • Afghanistan accounts for 80 to 90 per cent of the world's opium and heroin production, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. AFP
    Afghanistan accounts for 80 to 90 per cent of the world's opium and heroin production, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. AFP
  • Efforts to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat and saffron have not been successful. AFP
    Efforts to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat and saffron have not been successful. AFP