ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials have long accused the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban of sharing ideological roots. Now, officials say they also share something more tangible a billion-rupee narcotics empire that sustains militant operations and fuels cross-border terrorism.
Military officials describe this as an “unholy nexus” between armed groups, smugglers, and political intermediaries, with the Tirah Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa serving as a critical hub. Poppy cultivation and drug trafficking, they say, have become a parallel economy — one that bankrolls militancy and undermines Pakistan’s counterterrorism and governance efforts.
According to official data, around 12,000 acres in Tirah are under poppy cultivation, producing profits between Rs. 1.8 million and Rs. 3.2 million per acre. The sheer scale of this illicit trade makes it one of the most lucrative sources of militant financing in the region.
From Poppy Fields to Chemical Labs
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, recently stated that “the TTP is not a separate entity — it is a branch of the Afghan Taliban.” This relationship, analysts say, extends far beyond ideology.
The poppy grown in Pakistan’s borderlands is only the first step. Once harvested, raw opium is transported across the border into Afghanistan, where it is refined into heroin, methamphetamines (“meth” and “ice”), and hashish.
The chemicals required for processing, such as acetic anhydride and precursors for synthetic drugs, are smuggled from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, completing what officials describe as a “well-oiled industrial system.”
The raw poppy is then processed into heroin, crystal meth (ice), and other narcotics with chemicals supplied from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
These drugs are subsequently trafficked into Pakistan’s educational institutions and international markets.
After a successful anti-narcotics operation, the Tirah region was handed over to local authorities. However, reports suggest that local officials and certain political figures later allowed poppy cultivation to resume. Poppy farming remains one of the primary sources of terrorism financing in the region.
The farmers themselves are only one component of this chain. The smugglers serve as the linchpin — carrying raw material, money, and weapons across porous border routes, often under militant protection. These smugglers link the financial and logistical arteries of militancy, ensuring a steady flow of revenue into terrorist networks.
Terrorism Funded by “Religious Tax”
The militants have even cloaked their criminal enterprise in the language of religion. According to Pakistani officials, the TTP collects a 10 percent Ushar — an Islamic tithe on agricultural income — from poppy farmers in Tirah.
If each acre generates roughly Rs. 2.5 million, the valley’s 12,000 acres yield around Rs. 30 billion annually. Ten percent of that — nearly Rs. 3 billion — goes directly to the TTP.
In return, the group offers “security” to smugglers, drug traders, and cultivators, ensuring their operations continue unimpeded.
“This is the bargain between the TTP, the smugglers, and the poppy growers,” one senior security official said. “It is a criminal economy disguised as resistance.”
Counter-Narcotics Efforts and Government Failures
Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and Frontier Corps (FC) have conducted multiple operations in the region, even deploying drones to locate and destroy poppy fields.
But despite intermittent success, the trade persists — protected by local complicity and the political influence of those profiting from it.
Authorities acknowledge that local politicians, tribal elites, and criminal cartels form part of this “unholy alliance.” In some cases, administrative officials in the tribal districts have allegedly turned a blind eye to the trade, undermining enforcement efforts.
Pakistan had previously launched a four-phase strategy — “clear, hold, rebuild, and hand over” — to reclaim Tirah from militant control.
The area was cleared of insurgents, but officials now admit that the “hold” phase collapsed due to weak governance and corruption. “We cleared and left,” one official said, “and they came back — the militants, the smugglers, and the poppy fields.”
The Cross-Border Shift After Afghanistan’s Poppy Ban
When the Afghan Taliban banned poppy cultivation in 2023, a major shift occurred. Cultivation surged across the border in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces as Afghan farmers migrated into Pakistan, bringing expertise and networks with them.
UN reports confirm that Afghanistan’s ban displaced cultivation, rather than eliminating it. Afghan traders and processors simply shifted operations to Pakistan’s loosely governed regions, turning border areas into new centers of production and trafficking.
This cross-border shift has strengthened the TTP–Afghan Taliban financial ecosystem, as both sides benefit: the Afghan Taliban provides sanctuary and logistical support, while the TTP and allied smugglers control trade routes and local enforcement.
A Threat to Regional Stability
Pakistan accuses the Taliban-led government in Kabul of offering safe havens to TTP commanders, an allegation Afghan officials deny. But the evidence of ideological and operational collaboration continues to grow, particularly since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.
The narcotics trade now funds not only weapons and recruitment but also cross-border attacks, posing a severe challenge to Pakistan’s internal security. This trade, worth billions of rupees annually, perpetuates instability, finances terror, and corrodes governance from within.
Analysts warn that as long as this criminal network thrives, both sides of the border will remain trapped in a cycle of violence, corruption, and narcotics dependency — a toxic economy where ideology meets profit, and terror meets trade.
A Deepening Terror–Drug Alliance
Pakistan’s military has revealed new details of what it calls an “
“The TTP is not a separate entity, it is a branch of the Afghan Taliban,” said Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the military’s spokesperson.
Pakistan has introduced alternative livelihood programmes in recent years — distributing wheat, sunflower, and potato seeds, and fruit saplings to encourage farmers to abandon illicit crops. But with little enforcement and few economic incentives, most of these initiatives have faded.
Analysts say that as long as drugs remain the most profitable crop and militants control the routes, no real change is possible. Each year, billions of rupees flow through this shadow economy — enriching smugglers, funding insurgents, and perpetuating instability from Helmand to Khyber.
As one senior Pakistani official put it: “Every acre of poppy grown along our frontier is not just a field of flowers — it’s a field of fire. It fuels the guns that kill our soldiers and the corruption that poisons our state.”
