Surveillance drones and armed teams are sweeping across Pakistan’s countryside as authorities intensify efforts to eradicate opium poppy fields. The government has committed at least $3.5 million this year to the campaign, officials said, deploying weedicide sprayers and rifles to uproot thousands of acres of crops.
The crackdown comes after Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers banned poppy cultivation three years ago, cutting output by more than 90 percent and leaving Pakistan to emerge as one of the world’s largest suppliers. Officials in the border province of Balochistan warn booming cultivation risks turning the region into a hub for opium, fueling domestic addiction, empowering insurgent groups and damaging Pakistan’s reputation abroad.
Satellite imagery analyzed by researchers shows more than 8,000 hectares of poppy in just two Balochistan districts. Analysts estimate tens of thousands of hectares are under cultivation nationwide, compared with an official figure of only 380 in 2023.
Authorities blame Afghan migrants for aiding the trade as mass deportations continue. “We will not allow one inch of our land to be used for poppy,” said Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.