‘It’s our lifeline’: the Taliban are back but Afghans say opium is here to stay

Despite talk of a Taliban ban, in Helmand's poppy fields farmers and traders say they are not the only ones who depend on the drug to survive

The Taliban's announcement that it plans to ban the production of opium in Afghanistan does not faze seasoned dealer Ahmed Khan*.

They could not fund their war if there were no opium," says Khan, who operates out of Baramcha, close to the border with Pakistan.