PESHAWAR, Jan 30: The fresh wave of war that left large number of civilians dead and rendered many more homeless in Afghanistan has also contributed to reemergence of the poppy scourge in areas previously controlled by the Taliban militia.

The absence of a central authority, following the downfall of Taliban, ushered in a new era of lawlessness in the volatile Afghanistan which experienced 23 years of war and civil strife.

“What choice I had got,” said Saifullah Najibi, a middle-aged bearded man from Nangarhar province, who is one of the several farmers who have cultivated poppy in their native areas after a passage of two years.

Apart from his Ghani Khel area in the Nangarhar province, poppy crop, banned by the spiritual leader of Taliban Mulla Omar two years back, has been cultivated on a large area in the Gulai, Adil Khel, Pakha, Memand, Achin, Desarak, Debala, Durbabak and Kama areas — also in the Nangarhar province, bordering with Pakistan.

The elimination of Taliban brought a ‘sigh of relief’ for Saifullah who, despite all the economic hardships and financial constraints, did not cultivate poppy, during the last two years, in line with an agreement between the Taliban rulers and elders of his native area.

“I know poppy cultivation is not regarded as good, but what choices I have got to feed my family (of seven),” said Saifullah, who used to work on daily wages in Jalalabad fruit market before the US attacks in areas previously held by Taliban.

Extensive US bombing in the Taliban-controlled areas caused large-scale joblessness apart from inflicting other tragedies to Afghans already shattered by the 23 years of war. Sailfullah, like several others of his fellow tribesmen, was no exception.

Increasing insecurity due to US air strikes restricted his movement to Jalalabad, leaving him with little means to earn bread for his family.

“I could not wait for the situation to get better as that could have forced my family to undergo starvation,” said Naimatullah, another poppy grower from Nangarhar province, while talking to Dawn a couple of days back.

They said the crop would be ready for harvesting in April, provided it survived the expected pressure from the US-backed interim government of Afghanistan.

Apart from the areas before mentioned, the crop — the main source of income for several thousand poverty-ridden families — has also been reportedly cultivated in Shinwari, Batikot, Khogiani, Aagam, Sherzad and Rawdad areas.

Due to the expected availability of poppy after a gap of two years, the price of the banned product has reportedly experienced downward fluctuation.

Reduction in price has been attributed to the cultivation of poppy crop on a large area. According to the sources, per kilogramme price of poppy, inside Afghanistan, has gone down to Rs25,000 from the two month back rates of Rs60,000 per kilogramme.

“Further decline is expected if the crop survives till April and gets harvested,” said Naimatullah.

Knowing the complexity of the situation, the Afghan interim government head Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pakhtoon, has also imposed a ban on poppy cultivation in line with his predecessor — Mulla Omar.

Only the time would reveal as to what extent Mr Karzai succeeded in terms of eliminating poppy crop in the Pakhtoon belt of Afghanistan.

It appears to be a real test for the new setup after the scourge was put to an end by the Taliban regime — a fact duly acknowledged by the US and the UNDP!