WATCH | Pak Official Admits Smugglers Using Drones to Smuggle Drugs across Punjab Border

Smugglers in Pakistan are using drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to smuggle drugs across the border into India, Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan, a top Pakistan government official has said, during a discussion with senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir in Kasur.

Kasur is a city that borders Punjab and is located on the Pakistan-India border. The video released by Mir where Khan is heard making the statement is also the first time Pakistani authorities have admitted that peddlers are using hi-tech means to smuggle narcotics into India.

Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan, special assistant on defence to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said that the scale of smuggling is scary and agencies are trying to stop this.

Khan is also a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Kasur.

The video, shared by Mir on July 17, shows Khan saying: “Yes, and (smuggling) is very scary. Recently there have been two incidents where 10 kilos of heroin was tied to each drone and thrown across. Agencies are trying to curb this.”

Mir also uploaded the video with the caption: “Big disclosure by PM’s advisor Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan. Smugglers using drones in the flood affected areas of Kasur near the Pakistan-India border to transport heroin. He demanded a special package for the rehabilitation of the flood victims, otherwise victims will join smugglers.”

Punjab police say that the drugs they have seized are from those districts that border Pakistan. India has raised the issue of illicit drug trafficking and trafficking of weapons and ammunition using drones with Pakistan but the latter has not acted to curb the menace.

A report by the Indian Express said that at least 260 kilos of heroin were recovered from Punjab’s border areas till July 2023.

The report citing the Pakistani journalist said that Khan, Kasur MPA, faced a lot of flak in Pakistan for making this admission on live television. The journalist said that Khan is close to the Pakistani military establishment. Khan has been trying to grab the attention of the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in order to restore mobile connectivity – which is poor because of signal jammers being placed to halt cross-border drone movements – and also to show the plight of Kasur villagers affected by the floods.

(with inputs from Shalinder Wangu)