Drug Trafficking
Pakistan's drug habit is endangering the region, says analyst
Islamabad: Pakistan’s geographic location next to Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, places the country in a veritable front-row position in terms of drug trafficking, an activist said.
"Its establishment has left no stone unturned in exploiting this geographic location to its own advantage," Habiba Ashna Marhoon, the founder of AWiD (Afghan Women in Dialogue) and an activist who works around the Afghan Peace Negotiations (APN) topic, wrote in an article published in The Diplomat.
The activist said the money generated from the drug trade has been used to fund proxy terror groups.
"The role of narcotics in funding terror activities by Pakistan was revealed by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. During his interrogation in 2010, he revealed the role played by Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in linking drug lords and terrorists and facilitating the transportation of weapons, along with drugs, to India," Habiba Ashna Marhoon wrote.
The activist said Pakistan acts as a facilitator for Taliban terrorists who control 80 percent of the drug production area in Afghanistan.
"The drug consignments, in connivance with Pakistan’s authorities, are smuggled through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. From there, these consignments head for Pakistan’s air and seaports and, hence, to further destinations in China, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe," the activist wrote.
"The issue of narcotics smuggling has the potential to derail Pakistan’s bilateral relations and besmirch its international reputation. Indeed, the question arises as to why Pakistan would jeopardize its relations with other countries in order to benefit from narcotics," the activist wrote in The Diplomat.
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