Pakistan is always known for its ill-activities and this time the country’s intelligence agency ISI has made into the headlines for drug smuggling through the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The money earned from selling drugs is used for terror funding. Not only in India, Pakistani agents have also been arrested in Sri Lanka and the Maldives on the charges of carcotics trade in recent past. The intelligence agencies are constantly keeping an eye on the Pakistani drug terror in India. Recently the J&K Police and army seized 13.5 kilograms of narcotics whose value is estimated around Rs 65 crore. Along with these two terrorists were also arrested and from them, two pistols were also recovered
Talking about the recent seizure of drug shipment BSF Inspector General, Jammu Frontier, N S Jamwal said that “on the night of September 19 and 20 an army troop of 42 soldiers noticed some movement along the International Border on the Pakistani side. On being found by the BSF soldiers the terrorists opened fire and the BSF troops immediately retaliated in self-defense. In the morning during the search operation, 62 packets of the heroine, 2 Chinese pistols, 4 magazines, and 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition were found along the border”.
After seizing two shipments of drugs from Kashmir valley security agencies believed that Pakistan has again started its narco-terror operations. In the past also Pakistan used to smuggle heavy amounts of drugs into India but the operation was put to an end after security forces seized all the drugs that were smuggled in India. In March 2019, about 12 Pakistanis agents were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and the Maldivian Defense Force.
A large number of youth in Pakistan is addicted to drugs and Pakistan is trying to do the same in India. Hundreds of men, women from Udhampur, Jammu city are under the addiction of drugs. Earlier Pakistan used to smuggle drugs in Punjab but now Pakistan’s main target is the youth of J&K. Pakistan’s main aim is to ruin the youth of J&K and to increase the criminal and terror activities in the UT. The drug mafia threat keeps families from seeking police help.. The locals have demanded that the J&K government should subsidize the expensive de-addiction medicines as the Punjab government has done.
The Customs Department at Attari Border in Punjab seized 532 kg of heroin last year which costs around Rs 2,600 crore in the International markets. The drugs were packed in the bags of rock salt and were brought into the India in a truck. The arrest of Handwara mastermind Tariq Ahmad Lone confirmed that 80% of the drugs were smuggled by Pakistan. In August 2019 the NCB and JK Police force seized 51 kgs of Afghanistan origin heroin that was being transported to Punjab. In November 2019 NCB seized 50-kgs of heroin from an apple carrying truck with a Delhi number plate.
The National Investigation Agency arrested a bank manager Afaq Ahmad Wani in July from Srinagar in a case related to the seizure of heroin weighing about 21 kg and cash from the members of the drug agencies in J&K. NIA officer in an interview said that “drug terror has deepened its position in India and the drug mafia have changed their routes from land to sea”.
In May 2019, six Pakistanis were arrested from the coast of Kutch when Pakistan’s fishing boat Al Madina was caught with 218 kg of heroin. In 2105, the Indian Coast Guard seized 232 kg of cocaine from the Gujarat coast which costs around 600 crore rupees.
The increasing narco-terror in India is raising tension for India’s Intelligence Agencies because the money raised by selling the drugs is used to fund terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Besides this, the drugs are also smuggled to target the younger generation of J&K. The youth are the backbone of any country. By making them drug addict Pakistan wants to break the backbone of India and use them to increase terror-related activities in India. Intelligence sources said that the narco-terror threat is becoming a major concern for India and the central government as well as J&K government should end it before J&K falls prey to it.
Since 1989 the sale of drugs has been the main source of income for terrorist organizations in J&K. For very long Pakistan has been trying to smuggle drugs, fake currency, and ammunition. According to a report Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI pays around Rs 25-30 crore to terrorist organizations in India. From 1947 to 2003 ISI, the Pakistani Army, and the Pakistani government all joined hands in mission Terrorism to promote terrorism in J&K, Punjab, and Assam. Terrorism is largely funded in J&K by the cultivation and sale of cannabis in South Kashmir.
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