Public billboards get across the anti-drugs message in Kabul

Afghan newspapers urge the authorities and international community to redouble their efforts to eradicate illegal drug production - echoing calls from delegates at a major anti-narcotics conference in Kabul this week.

It is fortunate that the international community is now concentrating on preventing the cultivation and smuggling of narcotics. We expect drastic measures to eradicate this venomous crop as a result of the conference held recently in Kabul.

Hewad

A glance at history shows that there has always been only one way of eradicating the cultivation and production of narcotics, and that is through the use of force.

Kabul Weekly

The cultivation and smuggling of narcotics have emerged from perpetual war and insecurity... But there is firm confidence that the campaign against narcotics will have fruitful results if we introduce security and the rule of law to the country, strengthen the central government and speed up the reconstruction process with the assistance of the international community.

Anis

The question is: why did drug production rise in such an unprecedented way last year? Considering our political stability and the presence of the international community in the country, it should have gone down. This shows that the international community has so far failed to succeed in fighting narcotics. Furthermore, it is reported that the US authorities are not willing to fight seriously against drugs... They fear this could generate resentment from the warlords.

Thabat

Wretched farmers... are not the main people responsible for the expansion in the cultivation and smuggling of narcotics. The real people responsible are those who possess money and power.

Payam-e Mellat

Smugglers who give money to farmers in advance and encourage them to cultivate poppy should be arrested and punished severely; special attention should be paid to the country's security; the legitimate demands and difficulties of the country's farmers should be addressed; and the national army and police should be trained as soon as possible.

Anis

Although the Afghan government has drawn the attention of the United Nations and the interested countries to the problem over the past two years, the outcome has only been failure and an increase in poppy cultivation.

Erada

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.