TALIBAN SEEKS HELP TO STOP POPPY CULTIVATION

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia has asked for international help in
eradicating the cultivation of poppies, from which opium is derived.

The leader of the country's High Commission for Drug Control has also
confirmed that Afghanistan has agreed to a joint operation with Pakistan
and Iran, to wipe out refining laboratories in the border area in the far
south.

A United Nations estimate places the Afghan opium harvest at a record 4,600
tonnes last year, making the nation the world's leading producer of opium.

He says the time it takes to eradicate drug farms will depend on the level
of international funding, but has not specified a precise figure.