Editorial: Drug traffickers should be exposed

Recent reports indicate that senior government officials are heavily involved in drug trafficking. The traffickers are supported not only by officials, but also by some of thje peacekeeping forces based in the country. This is not acceptable either for the Afghan people or for the international community. It must be stopped. One Kabul newspaper quoted former Afghan interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali as saying that four cabinet ministers and 13 provincial governors are involved in the narcotics business. Meanwhile, the president's former spokesman and current chief of staff Jawed Ludin said the Afghan government is unable to catch these smugglers because they are being supported by peacekeeping forces stationed in the country. The president himself knows who these smugglers are, but he does not want to expose them – or perhaps he cannot reveal their names because he does not want to create gaps in his government. The peacekeeping forces may also have a their slice of the illegal drug production and trafficking, in order to put billions of dollars in their pockets. But Afghans no longer want their name and reputation to be associated with drugs, and do not want be labelled the “main producer of narcotics” forever. We hope our president will be able to rid himself of these people. He must purge his cabinet and the entire government.