This is a concern not only for the West, where the production fuels the illegal heroin trade, but also at home, where it is estimated that 15% of all adult Afghan males age 15-40 are addicted to hard drugs.

After Hekmatyar's forces captured Defense Minister Masood's ministry building in Kabul, which they were shelling for a year, a peace accord is signed.

Despite continuing fighting among the various rebel leaders - principally between government forces under Masood and Hezb-i-Islami faction troops loyal to fundamentalist Hekmatyar - a 22-member cabinet is named.

Other cabinet posts are divided among the 10 major rebel groups, including Mohammad Yunus Khalis' breakaway faction of the Hezb-i-Islami, which has boycotted all past agreements.

Prime Minister Hekmatyar visits Tehran and returns with a pledge that Iran will help repair roads destroyed in the war and help Afghanistan look for oil and gas.