Opium Nation

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by Fariba Nawa


  Marjah district, search for Darya in, 296, 300, 315–18

  poppy farming in, 34, 43, 100, 157–58, 165, 177, 275, 276–77, 298, 307–8

  Sangin district, 289–302, 318

  search for Darya in, 276–85, 287–304

  Taliban in, 276, 284–86, 300–301

  Herat province. see also Ghoryan district, Herat province

  author returns to (2000), 5–9, 18–29, 86–89

  author returns to (2002), 74–77

  after author’s family escapes, 45–47

  author’s family properties in, 9–11, 12–13, 14, 16, 24–27, 41, 85–86, 106–10, 126, 197, 198

  bathhouse, 13–14

  described, 11, 24

  history of, 11, 283

  Khalqi attempt at women’s liberation, 40

  literacy campaign in, 40

  Lycée Mehri, 13–16, 26

  mujahideen attacks in, 12–16

  120-day wind, 95–96

  opium smugglers in, 16–17, 47–52, 61

  Taliban activity in, 21–22, 27, 86–87, 100

  Herat University, 76

  heroin

  addiction rates, 310

  in Afghanistan, 2–3, 18, 34–35, 81, 192, 195, 230–41

  at Argu opium bazaar, 168–73

  China White/crystal, 236–38

  in Europe, 91, 195

  legalization of, 310

  in opium processing, 135, 177, 213, 234–36

  heroin (cont.)

  in the U.S., 60–62, 65–66

  value of, 35

  heroin laboratories, 34, 177, 213, 232–38

  hijab, 88–89, 95, 104

  Hizb-e-Islami party, 262

  Holbrooke, Richard, 308

  Holland, legalization of narcotics, 310

  Hossaini, Sayed Akbar (Haji Baba; maternal grandfather), 10–11, 21, 41, 49–51

  Human Rights Watch, 78

  Huntington, Samuel, 57

  Ibrahim, Dawood, 136

  Idrees (NIU officer)

  family of, 269–72

  murder of, 258–65, 276

  Imam, Colonel (Sultan Amir Tarar), 37

  Imran (guide in Helmand province), 287–303

  India, 136

  informants, 51, 112–13, 133, 210, 216, 217

  Institute for War and Peace, 135

  Iran

  Afghan refugees in, 109

  border war on drug trade, 141–42

  border with Afghanistan, 141–42, 145–47

  drug smuggling to, 49, 91, 101, 103, 106–9, 129–32, 141–45, 177, 195

  female dress requirements, 5, 7, 44, 166, 276–77, 282, 299–300, 318

  Ghurid dynasty in Ghoryan, 83–84

  Islamic Revolution (1979), 43–44, 147

  people smuggling to, 45–47, 106–7, 146–47

  Revolutionary Guard, 135

  ISI (Pakistani intelligence), 12, 42, 262

  Islamabad, author returns with Agence France Presse, 58, 66–68

  Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), 230–31

  Islamic Revolution (1979), 43–44, 147

  Islamic Unison (Afghan newspaper), 9

  Ismailis, 174

  Jalal (opium dealer), 138–40, 145

  Jalali, Ali Ahmad, 241

  Jami, Nuruddin, 11, 26

  Jamiat-e-Islami, 12

  Jan, Sayyed, 226, 229

  Jawan, Mr. (opium smuggler), 16–17, 47–52, 61, 80, 81, 92–93, 106–10

  son, Kamran, 6–7, 20–21, 92–93, 109

  Jawid (driver), 279

  jihad (holy war), Soviet invasion and, 42

  Kaaba (house of God in Mecca), 125

  Kabul. see also Karte Parwan

  author home in Project Taimani neighborhood, 265–67

  author’s mother visits, 183–87, 188–90, 197–98

  author travels to, 27, 77–79

  civil war among mujahideen rebels, 45–47, 53–54, 175, 262

  Communist destruction of, 17

  counternarcotics compound, 260, 261, 270

  four official gates, 207

  Loya Jirga (grand assembly of 2002), 77–79

  media explosion, 189

  as microcosm of all issues for narcotics, 267–68

  Nejat Center (addiction treatment), 191–92

  plot against Taraki, 41–42

  Polytechnic University, 37, 77–79

  population growth, 224–26

  Pul-e-Charkhi prison, 41, 211–15, 282

  Qala-e-Fatullah, 311

  riots in, 268–69

  suicide bombing in, 310–12

  Tajbeg Palace, 42

  Kabul Airport, 135, 136, 206–7

  Kabul University, 35, 37, 39–41, 282–83

  Kaftar (opium smuggler), 108–9

  Kajaki Dam, 301

  Kamran (family neighbor in Herat), 6–7, 20–21, 92–93, 109

  Kandahar

  author’s family moves to, 38–39, 275, 281–84

  author visits in 2002, 280–81

  poppy farming in, 43, 100, 151, 158, 165–66

  search for Darya in, 280–81

  Taliban defeat of mujahideen in, 17

  Karmal, Babrak, 38–39

  Karte Parwan, 216–29

  author home in, 184–85, 188–90, 197–98, 218–23, 265

  described, 218–19

  drug raid, 216–18, 223–24, 311–12

  foreign occupants in, 218–19, 221–22

  suicide bombing in, 310–12

  Karzai, Ahmed Wali, 227, 240–41, 307–8

  Karzai, Hamid, 73–74, 136, 141

  Bonn Agreement (2001), 68, 79, 157, 225–26

  corruption and, 141, 225

  drug trade and, 82–83, 141, 226–29, 240–41, 306, 309

  family base in Kandahar, 280

  peace declaration of 2001, 267

  Taliban and, 268–69, 305–6

  kerakash (drug middleman), 49

  Khair Khana, 269–72

  Khaleeq (Rustaq police chief), 239

  Khalili, Karim, 78

  Khalilzad, Zalmay, 78–79

  Khaliq, Mullah, 263

  Khalq Party, 38–41

  Khan, Abdur Rahman, 32, 84

  Khan, Amanullah, 140

  Khan, Haji Juma, 136, 260

  Khan, Ismail (warlord), 12, 17, 53–54, 74, 78, 88, 100, 112–13, 115, 140–42

  Khan, Wazir Akbar, 269

  Khan Mohammed, 146

  khishlaq (village constructed on edge of mountains), 176

  kidnapping, 247–50, 257, 300–301

  Kunduz province, 259, 271–72

  land mines, 12, 42, 52, 92, 145, 287, 313

  Laos, 33

  Lashkargah

  author’s family lives in, 274

  Little America project, 274–75

  Loya Jirga (grand assembly of 2002), 77–79

  Lycée Mehri (Herat school), 13–16, 26

  mahr (financial restitution for divorce), 121

  mahram (male relative/travel companion), 6–8, 22, 292, 298–99

  Malik, Abdul, 263

  Manan, Mullah, 263

  Mansfield, David, 160

  Maoists, 40

  Maria (wife of great-uncle Ahmed), 21

  marijuana, 196

  Marjah district, search for Darya in, 296, 300, 315–18

  Marxist revolution, 38

  Masooda, Aunt, 76

  mass graves, 67, 255

  Massoud, Ahmad Shah, 53, 68, 78, 150, 227, 232

  assassination by Taliban, 12, 56, 179, 219, 230

  mujahideen unite under, 17, 18

  in Muslim Brotherhood, 37–38

  Mehdi (opium dealer), 143–45

  Mehri (Afghan women’s magazine), 9

  Mina (niece of Imran), 294–96, 299

  Mobin (travel companion), 6–8, 18–21, 27–29

  Mohammed, Haji Baz, 136, 260

  Mohammed, Lal, 208, 210–11

  Mohammed, Prophet, 187

  money laundering, 101–2, 130, 133, 137
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  Mongols, 11, 32, 200, 303

  morphine, in opium processing, 135, 235, 236–37

  Morrison Knudsen, 274–75

  mujahideen rebels. see also opium trade

  Afghan Army mutiny to join, 40–41

  al Qaeda and, 66

  assume control of Afghanistan (1992), 17, 52–53, 67–68, 184

  attacks on Herat, 12–16

  civil war among, 45–47, 53–54, 175, 262

  controls on women, 88–89

  defeat in Kandahar, 17

  move to northern provinces, 174–75

  opium trade and, 42–43, 52, 157, 175–82

  in Pakistan, 44–45

  pedophilia among, 17, 279

  seven factions, 12, 17, 31, 42

  Soviet invasion and growth of, 42–43

  Taliban and, 66, 174–75

  U.S. support for, 12, 32, 42–43, 185–86

  music, 311

  Hindi, 27–28, 29, 87

  Taliban ban on, 7, 8–9, 22–23, 76, 77

  Muslim Brotherhood, 37–38

  Nadeem, Mohammad Ashraf, 67

  Naeem (husband; IT technician), 87–89, 310–12, 314–15

  Najibullah, Mohammed, 30–31, 52–53

  Nangarhar province, 309

  heroin laboratories, 213, 235–37

  poppy farming in, 34, 43, 177

  Nasim, Mullah, 34

  National Fertilizer Company, 12, 38–39, 71–72, 274, 281–82, 284

  National Interdiction Unit (NIU)

  death of officers, 258–65, 269–72

  described, 199–200

  drug raid in Takhar province, 233–35, 238–39

  drug raids in Karte Parwan, 216–18, 223–24, 311–12

  murder of officers, 258–65, 269–72, 276

  women in, 199–204, 207–8, 217

  nationalism, 65

  National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 195–96

  NATO, 205, 243, 246, 254–55, 257, 280, 306–7, 308

  Nawa, Fazul Haq (father)

  administrative career in Afghanistan, 12, 38–39, 71–72, 274, 281–84

  exile in the U.S., 72–73, 86, 315

  forbidden vices and, 71–72

  personality of, 70–72

  returns to Afghanistan (2002), 73–77, 85–86

  as translator, 189–90

  writing career of, 69–70

  Nawa, Sayed Begum (mother)

  exile in U.S., 315

  nicknames, 183, 187

  visits Afghanistan, 183–90, 197–98

  Nazaneen (NIU agent), 199–204

  Neela (cousin), 76, 124–25

  Nejat Center (addiction treatment), 191–92

  New York University, 55–56, 58

  Niazi, Adeena, 79

  Nigerian drug trade, 136

  nikah (Islamic marriage ceremony), 121–24, 311

  Nikyar, Jalil, 80–83

  Nimroz province, 261

  Nixon, Richard, 37–38

  Noor, Atta Mohammad, 67, 308

  Noorzai, Haji Bashir, 136

  North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 205, 243, 246, 254–55, 257, 280, 306–7, 308

  Northern Alliance, 79

  Nurzai, 84

  Nyamat, Nyamatullah, 228–29

  Obaid (NIU officer), 258, 260, 261–65, 270, 276

  Obama, Barack, 305, 308, 315

  okra, 159

  Omar, Mullah, 17–18, 252

  Omidian, Patricia, 265–67

  opium brides, 97–105, 128–29, 157–58, 302. see also Darya (opium bride)

  Opium Festival, 181

  opium palaces, 265

  opium trade, 1–4. see also counternarcotics strategy; poppy farming

  Argu opium bazaar, 168–73

  in Badakhshan province, 168–73, 175–82, 191, 290, 309

  chain of narcotics link, 134–37

  couriers in, 100–101, 136–37, 206–7, 244–45

  culture of drug trafficking, 240

  cycle of poverty and unemployment in, 142–45

  death penalty in Iran, 101

  double agents, 141–42, 203, 218, 238, 261

  as funding for al Qaeda and Taliban, 2, 32, 34, 100, 113, 134–35, 138, 205–6, 306

  in Ghoryan district, Herat province, 50, 80–84, 89, 90–93, 106–15, 129–32

  history and development of, 3–4, 17–18, 32–35, 42–43, 173–75, 190–91, 195–96

  impact of, 2–4, 34–35, 81–84, 95–96

  informants, 51, 112–13, 133, 210, 216, 217

  international mafia in, 180

  Iranian border war, 141–42

  mujahideen rebels and, 42–43, 52, 157, 175–82

  in Nangarhar province, 34, 43, 177, 213, 235–36, 309

  new mafia, 129–32, 135–36

  opium as currency, 176–77

  opium brides. see Darya (opium bride); opium brides

  opium smugglers, 16–17, 47–52, 61, 80–81, 89, 92–93, 100–105

  price of opium, 171–72

  punishment for trafficking, 25–26

  in Sangin district, 291–93

  smuggling to Iran, 49, 91, 101, 103, 106–9, 129–32, 141–45, 177, 195

  Soviet Union and, 34–35, 189–90, 195

  opium trade (cont.)

  Taliban ban on poppy cultivation (2000), 18, 67–68, 74–75, 156, 172, 175, 181–82

  as underground Afghan economy, 3–4, 42–43, 167

  United Nations estimates for, 34, 141–42, 177, 308

  younger generation of dealers, 137–40

  Osman, Mullah, 307

  outhouses, 94, 98, 110, 292

  overdoses, 196

  Ozra (gypsy musician), 61

  Pain, Adam, 160, 181

  Pajhwok (Afghan news agency), 184–85, 219–23, 227–29

  Pakistan

  in Afghan opium trade, 33–34

  Afghans seeking political asylum in, 44–45

  al Qaeda in, 306

  author’s family escapes through, 43–45

  author travels to, 27–29

  drug smuggling to, 177, 195, 229

  Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 236

  formation of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), 37

  ISI (intelligence agency), 12, 42, 262

  mujahideen in, 44–45

  origins of Taliban, 17–18

  provides U.S. arms to mujahideen, 12

  raid on Osama bin Laden, 306

  Pakistani mafia (Quetta Alliance), 135–36, 260–61, 272, 309

  pan-Islamist vision, 54

  Panjshiris, 79, 174–75, 219

  Parcham faction, 38

  Parizad (opium addict), 193, 194, 196

  Parween (poppy farmer), 149–56, 160–62, 163

  Pashto, 28, 36, 123, 264, 270, 273, 280, 282, 287, 291, 294, 297

  Pashtuns, 17, 31, 35–38, 68, 84, 91, 92–93, 99, 200, 231, 234, 236, 274–75, 276, 277, 282

  pedophilia, 17, 279

  People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, 37

  Physicians for Human Rights, 67

  pirahan tomban (tunic and pants), 28, 44, 85, 284

  police intelligence units, 139–40, 207–11

  Polo, Marco, 173–74, 232

  Polytechnic University (Kabul), 37, 77–79

  poppy farming

  Afghan eradication program, 18, 150, 154–56, 158, 181–82, 205, 209, 307–10

  alternatives to, 151–53, 158–62, 165–66, 181–82

  in Badakhshan province, 34, 149–67, 175, 232

  cycle for poppy cultivation, 165

  downsizing in Pakistan, 236

  forced versus voluntary eradication, 307–10

  in Helmand province, 34, 43, 100, 157–58, 165, 177, 275, 276–77, 298, 307–8

  introduction by Mongols, 32

  in Kandahar, 43, 100, 151, 158, 165–66

  in Nangarhar province, 34, 43, 177

  in Takhar province, 232–36

  Taliban ban on (2000), 18, 67–68, 74–75, 156, 172, 175, 181–8
2

  volume produced in Afghanistan, 43, 100, 103, 150–51, 157–58, 167, 236, 306, 308

  Portugal, legalization of narcotics, 310

  potatoes, 152

  proxy wars, 31–33, 179–80

  Pul-e-Charkhi prison, 41, 211–15, 282

  Pul-e-Khumri, Baghlan, 214–15

  Quetta Alliance (Pakistani mafia), 135–36, 260–61, 272, 309

  Qul, Piram (warlord), 231, 243, 246–54

  Qul, Subhan, 249

  Rabbani, Burhanuddin, 174–75

  Rahman, Haji Abdul, 242–43

  Ramia, Said Maroof, 10

  Rapid Reaction Force, 207–11

  Reagan, Ronald, 32, 42–43

  Rendon Group, 227

  Riaz (recovering addict), 192, 196

  rice, 25, 232, 259

  Rostam (uncle), 45–47, 106–9

  Rumi, Jalaluddin, 19

  Rustaq district, 231–35, 238–41, 246–51

  Saber (guide in Ghoryan), 94–97, 102, 105, 106–10, 115–19, 128–32, 138–40, 145–47, 295–96, 316

  Saboora (sister of Darya), 98, 99–100, 104, 124, 278, 317

  Sadid, Lailuma, 219–20, 223, 227–29

  saffron, 158–59, 160

  Said, Edward, 57

  salaam (peace) system, 158, 309–10

  salt, 232

  Samay (taxi driver), 287–303

  Samti, 242–46, 254–57

  Sangin district, Helmand province, 289–302, 318

  saracha (guesthouse), 24–25

  saraf (money changer), 101–2

  Sardar, Haji (drug lord), 113, 129–31, 134, 164

  Sarwary, Assadullah, 39–40

  satellite phones, 129, 244, 295–96

  satellite television, 22, 23, 269

  Sattar Agha, Sayed, 76–77, 85–87

  Schütz, Heike, 80–85

  Schweich, Thomas, 307

  Scott, Peter Dale, 32

  self-immolation, 89, 91, 114, 122, 164

  Sepida (daughter of Sardar), 130–31

  September 11, 2001, 4, 12, 55–58, 75, 179

  sewing, 151, 153, 187, 190

  Shahram (travel companion in Iran), 142–43

  Sharia, 65, 270

  Sharif, Mohammed (poppy farmer), 165–67

  Sheba, queen of (Gowhar Shad), 11

  Sherzai, Gul Agha, 309

  Shiites, 200, 282, 288

  Shinwaris, 136, 236

  shopping, 26

  Silk Road, 7, 32, 173

  slaked lime, 237

  Sobhan, Mohammad, 139–40

  Soltanzi, Gandomi (widow of opium smuggler), 111–16, 129, 132

  Soltanzi, Noman, 113, 115

  Soltanzis, 84

  Soviet Union, former

  invasion of Afghanistan (1979), 12, 25, 33–34, 41–43, 48–49, 51, 109, 179, 189–90, 211, 283

  opium trade and, 34–35, 189–90, 195

  proxy conflicts with U.S., 31–33, 179–80

  release of political prisoners, 42

 

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