Kabul - The Government of Afghanistan objects to a recent statement in the media attributed to Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, the Chief of United Nations Organisation for Drugs and Crime, proposing international aid to Afghanistan to be conditional upon eliminating poppy cultivation.

Mr. Costa was reported to have said: “International aid to Afghanistan should be made conditional on the country showing real results and progress in the fight against opium production.”

Reacting to Mr Costa’s statement, Mr. Habibullah Qaderi, the Minister of Counter Narcotics of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, said:

“Afghanistan is fully committed to eliminating the cultivation, production and trafficking of drugs in Afghanistan, and we are already making progress in achieving tangible results in this fight. We believe that, given the multi-dimensional aspects of the narcotics problem, the international community shares equal responsibility, and we are confident the international community is prepared to fulfill that responsibility.”

“However, Afghanistan will not accept the suggestion that international aid to Afghanistan be tied, in any direct or indirect way, to the fight against narcotics. I would like to urge Mr Costa to continue to encourage the international community to provide resources for alternative livelihoods of the affected communities in a timely manner.”