DUSHANBE, June 4, Asia-Plus -- NATO and the United States do not take efficient steps to fight production of narcotics in Afghanistan referring to the fact that it is not part of their mission, President Emomali Rahmon announced at a development forum in Dushanbe on June 2.  

“I have repeatedly expressed concern about this during the talks with representatives of the United States and the NATO,” said Rahmon, “However, they have stated that destruction of drugs is not part of missions of the antiterrorist operation.”  

“Tajikistan stands in third place globally in terms of the amount of contraband drugs seized,” sad the president, “But neither Tajikistan nor any other country, including Afghanistan, is able to tackle the drug aggression alone.” 

Rahmon added that drug trafficking is one of the main resources to finance terrorist groups.       

According to the UN experts, production of Afghan opium is expected to reach 8,000 tons this year.  In 2006, Tajik law enforcement agencies intercepted 4,790 kilos of drugs, which is 3.8 percent more than in the previous year.  According to UN, some 20 percent of Afghan opiates are traveling through the northern route (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to Russia and further to Western Europe).