Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Afghan drug crop down by 40 pc: Karzai
Associated Press
Kabul, April 26, 2005
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that the cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan was down by between 30 percent to 40 percent from last year and appealed for more foreign aid to help impoverished farmers switch to legal crops.
Karzai said the estimate was based on surveys from the United Nations and British officials, who are helping Afghan authorities mount a crackdown. U.N. officials have said they won't release estimates of the crop for several months.
Karzai also said Afghanistan needed more than American military bases to secure its future.
"We want a long-term strategic relationship to help us economically, politically and with security," he said at a news conference in the Afghan capital.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.