Drug proliferation and trafficking were the subject of a press conference held in the town of Mastung in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Thursday. Organised by the human rights group Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the event condemned the unchecked spread of narcotics in the distirct, accused the Pakistani state of facilitating the trade and urged immediate collective action to create a healthier environment for the region’s youth and future generations.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) denounced the rampant drugs trade gripping the region and accused the authorities of allowing traffickers to operate with impunity. Speakers Shahji Sibghatullah Baloch and Sabiha Baloch noted that the Mastung district has become a hub for narcotics, where all types of drugs are readily accessible. They criticised the apparent complicity of the state, which has turned a blind eye to the activities of the drugs mafia, leaving Balochistan’s youth increasingly vulnerable to substance abuse.
This is not the first time allegations of state involvement in the drugs trade have surfaced. In 2021, the Balochi nationalist political party Haq Do Tehreek accused the Pakistani authorities of facilitating drug smuggling. One party member stated that traffickers were granted immunity as long as they displayed the Pakistani national flag on their vehicles, a policy that emboldens criminals and exacerbates the drug crisis in Balochistan.
The BYC speakers went further, saying that the spread of drugs represents a deliberate ‘act of genocide’ against the Baloch people. According to the group, narcotics are not merely a societal issue but a systematic tool used to undermine and control communities. The devastation wrought by the proliferation of drugs is not unique to Balochistan; similar patterns have been observed in Kurdish regions across Syria, Iraq and Turkey, where narcotics are weaponised to weaken resistance and destroy social structures.
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Many Baloch families, like their Kurdish counterparts, feel abandoned by the state and left to fend for themselves in combating this silent epidemic. The dual burden of addiction and state neglect intensifies the suffering of these communities.
In an analysis of special warfare, journalist Sarah Glynn explains how drugs are weaponised in conflicts as part of a broader strategy to destabilise societies. She describes how states or controlling entities use narcotics in combination with other factors such as propaganda, economic pressure and cultural suppression as methods of dismantling resistance. This type of insidious warfare has devastating implications, robbing communities of their youth and eroding social cohesion.
Parallels between Balochistan and the Kurdish regions highlight the transnational nature of this crisis. In both cases, drug addiction is not merely a by-product of social ills but is actually allowed, even encouraged, in a calculated effort to subjugate entire populations. This shared experience underlines the need for international solidarity and a concerted effort to combat the weaponisation of narcotics.
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The BYC concluded the press conference with an urgent call for the Baloch nation to unite against the social evils perpetuating what they termed an ‘act of genocide’. The speakers stressed that resistance must extend beyond rhetoric, encompassing community-based initiatives to create a healthy and sustainable environment for younger generations. The conference ended with the message that only through unity and collective action can the Baloch people counter the forces threatening their future.
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