A governmental anti-narcotics delegation visited northern Afghanistan on Sunday to meet with local leaders and to stress that the production of narcotics in the area must be stopped.
The Interior Ministry delegation, which visited the main northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and met with the governors of northern provinces, included Deputy Interior Minister Hilalludin Hilal and the director-general of the Counter Narcotics Department Mirwais Yasini.
"The planting of narcotic drugs must be stopped in the north of Afghanistan," Hilal told a public forum, noting that Afghanistan's position as the world's biggest producer of opium was damaging the country's reputation.
"Whether we want to stop growing narcotic drugs or not, international countries are stopping the cultivation of narcotic drugs in Afghanistan," he added.
Britain is the lead nation assisting Afghan authorities in counter narcotic operations and has been assisted in at least one raid on a drug laboratory by United States military personnel.
Afghanistan produces more than two-thirds of the world's illicit opium supply and poppy cultivation is spreading to areas where it was never grown before, according to a recent United Nations report.
The northern provinces of Badahkshan, Sari Pul and Balkh are believed to have substantial poppy cultivation.
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