Opinion | Balochistan Is Redrawing The Golden Crescent: Why India Should Worry

Dr G Shreekumar Menon

The Golden Crescent, an opium-producing region spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, is seeing Balochistan emerge as a key hub for cultivation and trafficking.

Rising poppy cultivation across Southwest Asia, especially in Sistan and Balochistan province in Iran and across the border in Balochistan in Pakistan, by farmers from southwest Afghanistan is playing a significant role in reviving opium poppy cultivation.

The restive tri-border area between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran is rapidly emerging as a major opium production centre, potentially replacing Afghanistan. Balochistan is at the intersection of smuggling routes between Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. It has a common border estimated at 8,001 kilometres (km) with Iran and over 13,002 km with Afghanistan, while its coastal area extends over 750 km. Balochistan guards the oil-rich Persian Gulf and is the westernmost part of South Asia. This geographical location makes Balochistan a strategically significant area.

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High-resolution satellite tracking and local reports point to expanding cultivation fields across several Balochistan districts, including Loralai, Gulistan, Pishin, Killa Saifullah and Washuk. Balochistan has also evolved into Pakistan’s most dangerous province and is a primary hub for militant activities due to a volatile combination of ethno-nationalist insurgencies and transnational jihadist networks.

Baloch separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) are seeking complete independence from Pakistan. They operate under the umbrella alliance Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS). The province has also seen a southern migration of Islamist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP), exploiting the vacuum of state control.

These terror groups and drug networks move narcotics from Balochistan’s Panjgur district through Turbat city towards the coastal towns of Gwadar and Pasni. From there, the drugs are transported by sea using high-speed boats towards Gulf countries, India, Yemen and Tanzania. Balochistan’s Makran coast is being used by drug traffickers who rely on small and largely unmonitored jetties to move narcotics consignments.

Drug........

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