Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said here Tuesday that movements of drug traffickers have declined in Iran-Afghanistan border line thanks to mutual cooperation.
Mohammad-Najjar made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Minister of Counter Narcotics of Afghanistan, Zarar Ahmed Moqbel Osmani.
He said Iran-Afghanistan border line is more secure compared to Pakistan border, calling for enhanced border security cooperation.
Mohammad-Najjar said that the Iranian police are monitoring movements of the drug traffickers on Iran-Afghanstan border line, urging the Afghan government to prop up border security along Iranian borders.
Moqbel Osmani, for his part, expressed hope that poppy cultivation would be reduced in Afghanistan with assistance of other countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran in particular.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes had adopted a plan to encourage the Afghan farmers to replace poppy cultivation with other crops and receive an annual bonus in return.
The plan was carried out by the UNODC for several years and the Afghan farmers welcomed the initiative.
But, the UN left the plan abortive when the US troops occupied Afghanistan to take revenge for terrorist operations on September 11, 2001. Since then poppy cultivation has risen up multiple folds.
