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Is the Taliban’s war on drugs working?

Yama Bariz and Mamoon Durrani from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Afghan service discuss the effectiveness of the Taliban's poppy eradication campaign and explain how the trade is moving to Pakistan.

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 ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Afghan service discuss the effectiveness of the Taliban's poppy eradication campaign and explain how the trade is moving to Pakistan. Plus, what's behind the success of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Lê, the online platform where you can listen to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ articles in Portuguese, with World Service editor Silvia Salek. And the re-opening of the Saint Georges Hotel in Beirut, with Joya Berbery from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Arabic.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi
Produced by Alice Gioia and Caroline Ferguson
This is an EcoAudio certified production.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

Available now

27 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sat 5 Jul 2025 23:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 03:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 03:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 09:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 18:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 22:32GMT
  • Mon 7 Jul 2025 02:32GMT
  • Mon 7 Jul 2025 02:32GMT