[8] Sher Mohammad Akhundzada acknowledged that his administration had indeed been storing opium in specially built compounds, but claimed that they had done so with the intent of handing it over to the Interior Ministry for disposal.
Although Daoud was well-regarded by the ISAF coalition for his charm, openness, and English proficiency, unlike Akhundzada he had no tribal base in Helmand and was forced to rely heavily on British support to assert influence.
He released 3,000 of his tribesmen to join the Taliban and spread rumors that the British had come to Helmand to steal the local people's opium revenue and avenge their historical defeat at the Battle of Maiwand 126 years earlier.
President Hamid Karzai later expressed regret over the decision to sack Sher Mohammad, acknowledging: "I made the mistake of listening to [the British].
"[11][12] Talking to journalists in Kabul on March 3, 2008, Sher Muhammad Akhundzada claimed that while he was governor of Helmand for four years, NATO did not drop a single bomb on the province, no civilians were killed, and no districts fell to the Taliban.
[13] During the 2009 presidential election, Akhundzada, along with Ahmed Wali Karzai, a half-brother of the incumbent president, was accused of buying up voter registration cards in Helmand Province.