Tackle narcoterrorism expeditiously

The effects of Pakistan’s narcoterrorism in Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir have already been catastrophic. Without action, India’s border vulnerability costing a lot. The number of drugs traded and ingested in India has dramatically increased during the last several years. With rising heroin, marijuana, and brown sugar consumption, the formerly chronic drug misuse problem has reached epidemic proportions, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala,Goa & Maharashtra according to reports.

Trafficking and usage like this have detrimental effects on border terrorism. Drug terrorism is a long-standing issue. It is well known that Pakistani factions have historically given separatists money obtained through the drug trade. Former Pakistani prime ministers, including the current Arif Alvi, have accepted that the country’s security service sells heroin, marijuana, and brown sugar to fund covert military operations.

Large drug shipments with militants are seen often in Kashmir and other border states of India. However, the trend has changed, and drugs are now being transmitted right across the Line of Control. The current trend is for Pakistan’s militants to transport drugs directly in addition to weapons and ammunition. Terrorists from Pakistan are engaged in the same nefarious behaviour in India that they did in Punjab, where they first provided weapons training before drugging the youth.

Law enforcement agencies in the country are unanimous in the conclusion that Pakistan-based terrorist groups are now relying on transporting drugs to the region for terrorist financing purposes. Some of the medicines of Pakistani origin are sold in Kashmir and the rest are shipped to other parts of India. The combination of drug and weapon seizures by Kashmir security forces shows an established link between drug traffickers and militants.The Indian border has traditionally been open to drug trafficking. Young people in India are exposed to the deadly combination of drug addiction and violent extremism as a result of increased household use and easy access to drugs. India needs a strong counterterrorism strategy in addition to counterterrorism, preventing the latter from choking the former.