Anti-poppy drive launched in Kandahar

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): On the first day of an anti-poppy campaign, 67.5 acres of land was cleared of the illicit crop in the Maiwand district of southern Kandahar province, an official said on Tuesday.

The drive would be expanded to other districts in the next few days, the governor’s spokesman, Javed Faisal, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The Counter-Narcotics Department would eradicate poppies on 2,000 hectares of land, he added.

Maiwand, Panjwai, Zherai and Shah Wali Kot districts would be cleared in the first phase, while the campaign would focus on Spin Boldak, Arghistan and Takhtapul district in the second phase, Counter-Narcotics Director Gul Mohammad Sukran said.

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