Is the Taliban’s war on drugs working?

塔利班禁毒行动是否见效?

The Documentary Podcast

2025-07-05

16 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, the key ingredient for the drug heroin. When the Taliban took over, they banned poppy farming completely. 3 years on, how has this measure been implemented and how is it affecting people? Yama Bariz and Mamoon Durrani from the BBC's Afghan service discuss the effectiveness of the Taliban's poppy eradication campaign and explain how the trade is moving to Pakistan. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world. Presented by Faranak Amidi Produced by Alice Gioia, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean This is an EcoAudio certified production. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)
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单集文稿 ...

  • This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

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  • Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

  • This is The Fifth Floor, at the heart of global storytelling,

  • with BBC journalists from all around the world.

  • I'm your host, Farinak Amidi.

  • A few years back, Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium,

  • the key ingredient for producing heroin.

  • Opium is extracted from poppy sap.

  • And places like Helmand province in the south of the country used to be covered in poppy fields.

  • These cultivations were so large you could detect them from space.

  • Over the years, many unsuccessful attempts have been made to clamp down on this illicit trade.

  • Then, the Taliban took over the country, and in 2022, they banned poppy farming completely.

  • Three years on, how has this measure been implemented, and how is it affecting people?

  • Yama Buddies and Mamoun Durrani from BBC's Afghan Service have been looking into this story and they are here with me in the fifth floor studios.

  • Welcome, gentlemen.