The Taliban urged the United Nations not to comment on recent public protests in Badakhshan over poppy-eradication operations, according to a new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report said that from May to July 2025, Taliban efforts to destroy poppy fields in Badakhshan prompted demonstrations in the Argo, Jurm and Khash districts. During the Taliban’s crackdown on the protests, at least 12 civilians were killed and several others injured, UNODC said.
Residents in several districts have staged protests in recent months against the Taliban’s destruction of poppy farms, with some turning violent. Local sources said Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators and used force to disperse crowds.
According to the UN report, protesters burned tractors belonging to the Taliban’s Counter-Narcotics Directorate and blocked multiple roads. In response, the Taliban temporarily suspended eradication operations and cut internet services in the affected areas.
In a written response appended to the report, the Taliban Interior Ministry’s Counter-Narcotics Directorate asked UNODC to avoid mentioning “public resistance to poppy eradication in Badakhshan.”
The report also said that while poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has fallen by 20 percent compared with last year, the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine, continue to rise.
