MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2021) The Afghan interior ministry has been tasked with forming a new unit, dubbed the "Green Unit," that would tackle the illegal clear-cutting and export of forest, Deputy Agriculture Minister Shamsuddin Shariati said on Monday.
"We have plans that include the green unit, people's associations, and increasing the number of employees - we will stop the cutting of not only pistachio trees but all the forests that we have in the country," Shariati said, as quoted by Afghan broadcaster TOLO news.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs has confirmed work on establishing the new unit, according to the report.
"Such a unit is going to protect the forests of Afghanistan and prevent the cutting of forests and smuggling of wood outside the country," ministry spokesman Saeed Khosti was quoted as saying.
Deforestation and wood smuggling across the border have gone on for years, according to the report, affecting both common and crop-yielding forests, such as pistachio trees and date palms. The Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) have vowed to stop illegal deforestation.
