The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan after it seized the country’s capital, Kabul, in mid-August saw tens of thousands of people flee the country. Afghans who remain are now dependent on the Taliban to govern the war-torn country. But where does this leave the world’s leading opium poppy-producing country?
In contrast to the war-ravaged Asian nation, illicit networks of heroin traders flourish. And the Taliban’s political survival depends on maintaining an illicit market even though it might outweigh financial gains from it.
