Pakistan Army, Taliban Involved In Narco Trade: NATO Report

The unholy nexus of the Pakistan Army and the Taliban's involvement in the narco trade was revealed by the NATO Defence Education Enhancement Program (DEEP) report.

The unholy relationship between the Pakistani military and the Taliban's involvement in the drug trade is revealed by the NATO Defense Education Improvement Program (DEEP) report.

According to a 2022 report titled "Narco-Insecurity, Inc., Pakistan-Afghanistan Convergence on Drugs-

The trade was made possible with the help of Pakistan's military espionage agency, the ISI, which has conducted several covert operations with sympathetic jihadist groups, all of which have relied heavily on drug smuggling to fund their operations," South Asia Press reported.

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The drug trade constitutes one of the main financial sources for the insurgency groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but most importantly it fuels drug terrorism globally.

Moreover, the Afghan and Pakistani heroin networks and drug lords and their connection to the Taliban and the Pakistani army constitute a major obstacle to security and nation-building,

and democratic governance in Afghanistan and the region.

Pakistan's role in the spread of drugs has been validated by a number of arrests of its citizens in other countries on charges of drug smuggling.

It is reported that Pakistan has established smuggling networks over the past years to India - especially within the Kashmir Valley -

This is to ensure a steady supply of drugs and weapons, South Asia Press reports.

The main objective of this NATO academic report by David R. Winston is to analyze the growth of the drug industry stemming from Afghanistan and Pakistan and the relationship that has formed between drug smuggling and terrorism.

The Taliban have long used drugs as their main source of revenue.

Without the poppy crop, they might never have grown to be the massive organization they are today that was able to overthrow the Ghani government, according to the writer.

With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan last year,

South Asia Press reported that the terrorist group had taken control of opium cultivation in the country.

According to a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the month of November 2021,

Afghanistan accounted for about 85 percent of global opium production in 2020 and provided nearly 80 percent of the world's opium consumers.

The total value of opiates (opium, morphine and heroin) ranged from 9 to 14 percent of Afghanistan's GDP in 2020.

Methamphetamine and cannabis are two other major drugs that have been expanding production in Afghanistan in recent years, South Asia Press reports.

With Pakistan sharing 2,400 km of porous border with Afghanistan, it has served as a transit corridor for drug traffickers. According to independent estimates,

More than 40 percent of Afghan drugs pass through Pakistan before they reach international markets.

Tons of opiates and methamphetamine are being smuggled from Afghanistan to the Torkham border crossing, Ghulam Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where they are sent to Lahore and Faisalabad, and repackaged into huge shipments, South Asia Press reports.

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