Borderlands: 9,000 Hectares of Poppies Mapped in Balochistan

More than 9,000 hectares of poppy cultivation were identified in Pakistan's Balochistan province according to a new satellite analysis. This figure marks a sharp increase in opium production in the region following the Taliban's imposition of a wide-ranging ban on illicit narcotics in Afghanistan in 2022. While Afghan output has fallen, the ban has not eliminated cultivation entirely. Production is now moving across borders into neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

David Mansfield, a UK-based expert on Afghanistan's illicit drugs industry and author of A State Built On Sand, stated that the ban combined with instability in the tri-border area created conditions for widespread growth. He described the remote borderlands as a global center for opium production. The data comes from Alcis, a British firm, which conducted satellite imagery assessments. Most of the detected fields are concentrated in the districts of Loralai and Killa Abdullah in Balochistan.

Abdul Qahar Wadan, a former National Assembly member from Killa Abdullah, said cultivation is rampant in the area. He alleged that senior military officials and pro-government power brokers back the growers by taking commissions. Monawar Hussain, the district's chief administrative officer, rejected those claims. He stated that cultivation declined after an eradication campaign last year. However, Alcis imagery from 2026 shows no clear evidence of that eradication. Pakistan's Interior Ministry and the provincial government did not respond to requests for comment.

A farmer in Killa Abdullah speaking anonymously said growers pay bribes to local authorities through influential intermediaries. He alleged that when media coverage draws pressure, growers sometimes plant poppies on barren land so officials can destroy the crop and publicize the effort. Lala Jan Kakar, another resident, said insecurity, drought, and flash floods have devastated traditional fruit farming. He noted that the demand for poppies is much higher than for fruits and that the income is better.

Afghan opium farmers from Kandahar and Helmand are leasing land in Balochistan, bringing money and expertise with them. Kakar said these growers invest millions of Pakistani rupees in solar-powered wells and share profits with landowners. Poppies can be harvested twice a year. Many farmers doubled their cultivated land in 2026. Mansfield called this a stark indication that much higher cultivation levels should be expected in 2027.

A similar pattern has taken hold in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province. Afghan farmers work there as tenants and sharecroppers, often drawing on family ties. Satellite imagery from 2026 shows extensive poppy fields, some using drip irrigation. This costly investment suggests growers who planted in late 2025 expected little risk of eradication. Mansfield described a shift from mixed farming to large-scale poppy monoculture in these border regions.

Opium cultivation is also rebounding inside Afghanistan despite the ban. Production is concentrated in northeastern Badakhshan Province and several southwestern provinces. Mansfield said southwestern cultivation almost doubled between 2025 and 2026. Farmers in these areas have protested and defied the ban due to drought, debt, and economic hardship. A recent Taliban directive bars home searches for poppy or opium without a court order. Mansfield warned that if farmers read this as a signal of tolerance, Afghanistan could see a dramatic rise in opium production in 2027.