Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in South Asia

The Dynamics of “Narco-Jihad” in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Region

63 the national bureau of asian research The Dynamics of “Narco-Jihad” in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Region Ehsan Ahrari EHSAN AHRARI is Professor of Security Studies (Counterterrorism) at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu, Hawaii. He can be reached at . NOTE The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and do not reflect those of the APCSS, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. Originally published in: Vanda Felbab-Brown, Louise I. Shelley with Nazia Hussain, and Ehsan Ahrari, “Narco-Jihad: Drug Trafficking and Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” National Bureau of Asian Research, NBR Special Report, no. 20, December 2009.© 2012 The National Bureau of Asian Research. This PDF is provided for the use of authorized recipients only. For specific terms of use, please contact . EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Thisessayexplorestheglobaldynamicssurroundingnarco-traffickingintheAfghanistanPakistan border area, and assesses the implications for U.S. security interests in the region. MAIN FINDINGS • A narco-jihad is being funded by the opium-related system of trade in narcotics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan the narco-jihad has escalated to intense levels, while in Pakistan the strength of the narco-jihad is still growing. • Afghanistan is the predominant global supplier of opium, and Pakistan is becoming increasingly involved with opium processing. Narco-trade in both Afghanistan and Pakistan interfaces with actors in Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia, which serve as transit routes to the global market. Terrorist groups and transnational drug and crime syndicates are involved in protection, price control, and distribution of opium to regional and global markets. • In Afghanistan, narco-jihad is being sustained by the “iron triangle” of warlords, corrupt government officials, and the Taliban–al Qaeda nexus. In Pakistan, narco-trade is bringing in extensive amounts of laundered money. The Taliban in Pakistan are using these funds to carry out their own version of narco-jihad with an aim to weaken and eventually overthrow the civilian government in Islamabad. POLICY IMPLICATIONS • The opium narco-trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan strengthens the chances of the prolongation of insurgency, as such trade funds a growing narco-jihad in the region. • Narco-trade in Afghanistan functions through a variety of actors, each of whom is as important as the other. The physical removal or significant weakening of one of these actors will weaken the narco-trade, but only temporarily. • Given the regional dynamics of the drug trade, a comprehensive strategy that treats Afghanistan and Pakistan as a single theater of war holds the most promise for defeating the narco-jihad. 65 THE DYNAMICS OF “NARCO-JIHAD” u AHRARI A “narco-jihad” is being waged in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. The ferocity of this jihad in Afghanistan is quite intense and its strength in Pakistan is also growing. It is being funded by the opium-related system of narco-trade, which in turn increases the chances that the insurgency will be prolonged while also strengthening the major players in the narco-trade system. In the process, narco-jihad ensures that the central government of Afghanistan remainsweak.Thepervasivenatureofnarco-jihadposesachallengetotheeffortsoftheinternational security assistance force (ISAF), particularly with regard to whether to give priority to dismantling the narco-trade system or to nation-building efforts aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the central government and thereby enhancing governmental legitimacy. In this essay the term “narco-jihad” describes a religion-based justification of the opium trade. Narco-jihad—i.e., jihad that is being funded by the narcotics trade—stems from the fact that the Taliban government in the 1990s imposed a strict ban on the cultivation of hashish because hashish was consumed by Afghans and Muslims. As one Afghan official explained to Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, “Opium is permissible because it is consumed by Kafirs [unbelievers] in the West and not by Muslims or Afghans.”1 Because the opium trade remains a major source of financing for the jihad led by the Taliban and al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) area—and for the “holy” cause of defeating the Western “crusading” forces and returning Afghanistan to an Islamic government—the struggle itself has been characterized as narco-jihad. In particular, this essay explores the global dynamics of narco-trafficking in the AfPak border area, analyzes the interface of regional actors with key players and networks outside the region, and assesses the implications for U.S. security interests in the region. Given the intricate and everwidening scope of the narco-trade...