Afghan narcotics criminals attempted to form an alliance with the country's Islamic clergy but were rejected, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said.
Abdullah, who was meeting with journalists and foreign policy specialists while visiting Washington this week, said Afghan drug lords had hoped that by giving money to the Islamic hierarchy they could buy the clerics' support and protection.
But the clergy ruled that the country's vast narcotics operation was sinful and refused their offer, according to Abdullah.
The dapper foreign minister said the government is winning the uphill battle to halt Afghanistan's narcotics production, which is based on the poppy crop and is worth an estimated $3 billion. The narcotics trade accounts for more than half of Afghanistan's gross domestic product.
The official position is that 20 percent of the opium-producing poppy harvest has been eradicated, mainly by persuading farmers to switch to other crops such as pomegranates. Afghanistan's poppy harvest will be halted in six years, according to the Afghan government officials.
However, anti-narcotics experts are skeptical of these estimates.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
