Afghan opium output soars to record high

WASHINGTON - OPIUM production in Afghanistan surged to record levels last year, increasing the flow of heroin to Europe and the Middle East and undermining the fight against Islamist insurgents, the US reported on Thursday.

In its annual report on global narcotics, the State Department linked a 25 per cent jump in opium production in Afghanistan to the resurgence of the Taleban militia, which has reasserted control over swathes of the country from which it was ousted in 2001.

The congressionally mandated report revealed that despite four years of anti-narcotics assistance to the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, opium cultivation continues to rise in the country, with output growing from 4,475 tonnes in 2005 to 5,644 tonnes last year.

Last year's harvest was valued at US$3.1 billion (S$4.7 billion) - nearly a third of Afghanistan's total national product, including both legal and illegal activities, it said, citing United Nations statistics.

The report blamed the government's failure to curb opium output on the 'limited reach of Afghan law enforcement, endemic corruption and a weak judicial system'.

It also said there was 'strong evidence that narcotics trafficking is linked to the Taleban insurgency', which caught the United States government and its allies by surprise with its series of deadly attacks in 2005.

'These links between drug traffickers and anti-government forces threaten regional stability,' the report said.

Earlier this year, the US announced a massive US$10.6 billion in new aid to bolster the Karzai government, but all but US$2 billion will go to strengthen security forces and just a fraction of the rest will be used for anti-narcotics efforts.

The State Department report said the resurgence of Afghan opium production undermines 'the consolidation of democracy and security in Afghanistan' and could lead to a spike in heroin overdoses in Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Among other major opium producers, the report acknowledged efforts by Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand - the so-called Golden Triangle countries - to curb poppy cultivation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE