Iran blames Taleban for drugs crime

Parliament in Iran is to give urgent consideration to proposals for dealing with an upsurge in drug-related crime in eastern provinces adjacent to Afghanistan.

A special commission has recommended allocating more than forty-three million dollars 350-billion rials to fortify the border to prevent drug-smuggling from the Afghan side.

Local officials say robberies have been on the increase and some areas are in a state of chaos because of the activities of the traffickers. The Iranian newsagency IRNA says the Interior Minister, Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari, has accused the Taleban authorities in Afghanistan of failing to respond to the problem.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service