An absolutely stunning statistic has emerged from Afghanistan this week with the revelation that in the past year, the country has convicted a grand total of 35 drug smugglers.

This paltry sum comes despite the fact that the British alone have contributed over 47 million pounds to the Afghan anti narcotics effort and despite the fact that the country is once again, the prime opium producer in the world.

In fact the crop accounts for over half of the nation’s GDP.

So why the poor conviction result?

That seems to be down to several reasons including the growing power of the drug mafia within the country.

Let’s also not forget that the social system of patronage and tribal loyalties does not make an impartial legal system an easy thing to evolve to. Marry that with the fact that the central government barely controls the capital and the chances of making a major incursion into the drug industry through a high conviction strategy is all but gone.

Even so, a lot of people are going to be asking about AID money and the government’s real commitment to fighting the drug trade in Afghanistan.