EDITORIAL: India is certainly the biggest narcotics consumer in the region. The last month's drug haul at the Adani Ports-managed Mundra port in India's Gujarat state was simply extraordinary. Nearly three tonnes of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crores were seized from two containers. The consignment of "semi-processed talc stones" was booked in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and shipped to India via Iran's Bandar Abbas port. And it was not the first seizure of drugs from Afghanistan - in June a similar consignment from Afghanistan was received. Adani Ports and Logistics has now issued a statement, saying that it will not handle any cargo originating from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to its announcement, "This advisory will apply to all terminals operated by (Adani Ports and Logistics) and including third-party terminals at any of the company managed ports till further notice". One of India's largest commercial port operators, Adani Ports and Logistics has a presence across 13 domestic ports in seven states. It is important to note that in FY20, India's total imports from Iran stood at $1397 million, Afghanistan $437 million and Pakistan $14 million. India's exports for the same year to Iran stood at $3374 million, Afghanistan $998 million and Pakistan $816 million. There's no clear answer to the question how India's Narcotics Control Bureau will handle this fantastic drug haul. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are conspicuously silent on this mega drug haul. But a senior opposition leader has made an eye-opening comment on Narcotics Control Bureau's highly biased and unfair approach to the Aryan Khan drugs case. According to Congress's Kapil Sibal, attention has been successfully diverted from Ashish Mishra (Indian union minister's son) and the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre.

Be that as it may, for no fault of the Taliban, their government is very likely to be blamed for the Mundra drug haul. But that would be unfair on the part of the blamers. By August 15 when they captured Kabul and installed their administration Afghanistan was already heavy with opium and its byproducts, including heroin. In 2020, Afghanistan had produced about 7,500 tonnes of opium, and this was less than it had in the years before during the war. In fact, poppy cultivation had significantly risen during reigns of NATO-propelled Afghan governments -- as against the situation during the first government of Taliban. So far there is no indication that the present Taliban rulers would tolerate poppy cultivation, while the fact remains that the foreign forces were one of the main consumers of opium and its byproducts. So instead of pointing fingers towards the Taliban government the accusers must put their own house in order. In the case of drugs, the demand determines the quantity of supply. A little over 2 percent of the Indian population - which is about 130 crores - is addicted to drugs. This is three times the global average. The reported drug seizures are just the tip of the iceberg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021