Golden Crescent of Opium
The Golden Crescent of Opium, according to Iran Gate, is a region in the south of Central Asia that starts from Pakistan, passes through Afghanistan, and reaches Iran. Historically, it is known as the Golden Crescent.
The temperate and humid climate and sandy soil of this region make the countries forming the Golden Crescent suitable for cultivating Papaver somniferum, or opium poppy, a plant from whose milky sap opium is derived, the primary substance for various narcotics. Throughout history, opium has signified wealth for criminal groups and gangs.
Opioids in India and Pakistan
More than 80% of the narcotics and opioids entering India come from its neighboring country, Pakistan. The Golden Crescent of opioids and heroin includes three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
The majority of 872 drug dealers interviewed acknowledged that narcotics are imported from Pakistan into India, followed by Nepal and Afghanistan. According to another report titled ‘Pakistan’s Greater Plan to Combat Drugs’ by the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), an increasing number of exchanges of shipments containing drugs, weapons, and ammunition occur at the India-Pakistan border, especially in the Punjab region, which is controlled by India’s border security forces.
The expansion of terrorism activities and arms trade has occurred both quantitatively and qualitatively. Drug trafficking is now an integral part of Pakistan’s state support for terrorism across the border, a tool for conducting guerrilla warfare with neighboring India, which has always been the main antagonist in the region. Pakistan’s leadership in international drug trade and economic support for terrorist organizations has been confirmed by several domestic sources within Pakistan.
After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996, the focus of terrorists was the region of Jammu and Kashmir, the part administered by India. Heroin sales finance covert military operations in Kashmir with the help of jihadist organizations through proxy wars. Relations with terrorist organizations and support for them by the Pakistan army, especially by the ISI, the main intelligence service of Pakistan run by the Pakistan Army, are well documented.
The ISI, the most important and powerful among the country’s intelligence services, coordinates and executes plans, including support and connections with the Haqqani network. The Haqqani network is linked to the al-Qaeda network and accused of involvement in the major international drug trafficking network.
Therefore, narco-terrorism, the connection between drug trafficking and terrorism, remains a key word in South Asia’s domestic and foreign policy and in the framework of India-Pakistan relations. Pakistan’s involvement in state terrorism and support for international terrorism is documented and well-known.
Even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration focuses on the close links between drug trafficking and terrorist organizations in Asia, which often use the opioid trade to create wealth and finance their organizations. They also organize the routes and infrastructure for drug distribution.
Opioid Transit Route
There are mainly two main routes that start from Pakistan and have been used for years. The first route is the Balkan route, which passes through Afghanistan and Iran, then through Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania, and from there to Greece and Italy.
Over time, due to increased controls in Iran, this route was replaced by the northern route, which goes from northern Afghanistan through Central Asia and passes through countries like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, or through the Caucasus and Kazakhstan to Russia, the Balkans, Scandinavia, and Europe.
Afghanistan, the Drug State
An academic paper published in 2010 claimed that since 2001, not only Pakistan but also Afghanistan has been synonymous with a drug state. In Afghanistan between 2007 and 2008, the drug-based economy reached a level unprecedented in modern history of drug trafficking, at least since World War II. At that time, Afghanistan supplied 93% of the international opioid market, with more than 95% of the target market being Europe.
According to a UN report in 2020, Afghanistan produced 85% of the world’s opium, and according to an international organization, over five years, its production exceeded 6,000 tons annually. Between 2002 and 2020, the land used for poppy cultivation tripled, and ephedra also appeared, from which various methamphetamines are derived.
Opioids are mainly a source of income for the weaker sections of society, those living in rural outskirts who make a living from poppy farms.
The government’s fight against illegal cultivation has been observed in different periods. Cultivation and trafficking of this substance are indeed a main part of the country’s economy, ensuring employment for half a million people and the livelihood of about two million Afghans.
Opioids are mainly a source of income for the weaker sections of society, who often live in rural outskirts and make a living from poppy farms. The Afghan government has taken measures to ban illegal cultivation at different times.
The first wave of this fight was in 2005 with a ban on opium cultivation, and later in 2008 and 2009 with new campaigns of suppression and further bans. These bans caused many rural families’ incomes to drop by up to 90%, leading to their impoverishment and pushing the poor population into debt.
Legal economic activities, especially for those living far from Jalalabad, the center of Nangarhar province, and major cities, did not take root. Many of them resorted to criminal activities again, from kidnapping for ransom to theft. Some also migrated to Pakistan, where many were recruited by the Taliban.
Even today, after the West’s withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power, the country cannot rely on economic aid from international institutions, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, the United States, and the European Union. On the other hand, due to lack of access to blocked funds deposited abroad, there is a possibility that the new authorities in Kabul will turn to increased illegal opioid production.
Despite the Taliban government seeking international legitimacy from countries like Iran, China, and Russia, which have been most affected by Afghan drug trafficking, a new ban on opium cultivation has been announced. However, even the new government will hardly be able to proceed without the traditional opium-based economy and new methamphetamine market opportunities.
As a result, to ensure the consolidation of their rule and social stability in the country, they will continue opioid trafficking, relying on the assistance of allied militias and local warlords.
The opium trade in contemporary Afghanistan is linked to structural factors such as insecurity, a flawed political structure, local gangs and warlords, and a weak economy, one of the poorest economies in the world.
Pakistan and the European Union
Pakistan feels the pressure from the European Union, as the status of this country in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which exempts emerging countries from paying certain export tariff rates to the EU, depends on the Pakistani government’s commitment to combating drugs, which could be affected if Islamabad fails in this regard.
The Generalized System of Preferences depends on the implementation of 27 international conventions on human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, and good governance, and includes the UN Convention on combating illegal drugs.
In 2014, Pakistan gained a privileged position and demonstrated its commitment to maintaining resolutions and adhering to reporting obligations to UN treaty bodies. However, one aspect of this plan is its measurement for temporary withdrawal and safeguard, meaning if a country fails to effectively control drug trafficking, preferences can be immediately revoked.
The GSP status is very important for Pakistan because the European Union is its first trading partner, absorbing more than a third of Pakistan’s total exports in 2018, followed by the United States, China, and Afghanistan. The EU can use this indicator as leverage to extract concessions from Pakistan.
Even with joint efforts, eliminating the drug trafficking problem in Pakistan has been very difficult because drug production does not occur within its territory, and even with strengthened border patrols, if neighboring Afghanistan does not take necessary and sufficient actions, preventing drug entry will be very difficult.
Since 2001, Pakistan has pursued a zero-tolerance policy towards opioids, attempting to promote strengthening anti-opium cultivation laws and focusing on developing alternative economies in rural areas. This has led to a significant reduction in drugs in the country, but it still appears vulnerable to drug trafficking due to its shared border with Afghanistan.
As of 2017, a total area of over 3,000 tons of drugs existed within its territory. Therefore, with the progress of the underground economy of drug trafficking in Afghanistan, we will likely see an increase in the area allocated for such products in Pakistan. The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), the main drug control organization across the country, processes data and statistics related to this issue every year.
Therefore, the challenge for the Islamabad government at the international level remains. In fact, Pakistan, as part of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), has proposed several policies to promote education against the spread and use of drugs, which have been approved by other member countries.
Despite all these measures, we still see that this trend in the region shows no tendency to decrease, with some reasons including:
- Lack of economic alternatives for producers’ livelihoods
- Rising and constant demand for opioids
- Lack of effective cross-border cooperation to combat drug trafficking