Taliban chief leader Haybatullah Ahunzada has banned opium cultivation in Afghanistan, DPA reports.
Ahunzada’s decree states that if this order is violated, the crops will be destroyed and the perpetrators will be punished according to Sharia law.
It also prohibits the use, transportation, trade, export and import of all drugs, including heroin, hashish and alcohol. Manufacturing workshops are also prohibited.
Last November, the United Nations warned of an increase in opium crops in Afghanistan.
The decree was passed after Ahunzada chaired a three-day meeting of his government in his native Kandahar in mid-March. Following the meeting, the Taliban imposed a number of new restrictions, including the continued closure of girls’ schools, gender segregation in parks, the introduction of the beard requirement, and a special dress code for government officials.