Satellites find 9,000 hectares of poppies in Pakistan's Balochistan
New data shows opium farming shifting into border regions of Pakistan and Iran following the Taliban's 2022 ban in Afghanistan.
By Sakura Novak ·
9,000 hectares of poppy cultivation have been identified in Pakistan's Balochistan province, according to satellite imagery and a new report. David Mansfield, a UK-based expert on the region's illicit drug trade, released an August report for the British firm Alcis detailing the findings. The data suggests that opium production, which has declined sharply in Afghanistan since the Taliban imposed a ban in 2022, is now moving across the border into neighboring countries.
Mansfield stated that the Taliban's ban, combined with instability in the tri-border area, created conditions for widespread growth in Pakistan's Balochistan and Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan. He described the remote borderlands as becoming a global center for opium production. Most of the new cultivation in Pakistan is concentrated in the districts of Loralai and Killa Abdullah.
Local officials and farmers describe a shift in agricultural practices driven by economic necessity. Lala Jan Kakar, a resident of Killa Abdullah, noted that insecurity, drought, and flash floods devastated traditional fruit farming. He said the demand for poppies and the income they generate far exceed that of fruit. Afghan farmers from Kandahar and Helmand have crossed the border to lease land, investing in solar-powered wells and sharing profits with local landowners. Poppies are harvested twice a year, and many farmers doubled their cultivated land in 2026.
The Pakistani government has largely denied the scale of the operation. Islamabad insists that any poppy crops found have been destroyed. However, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime acknowledged that scarce data and sharp rises in eradication figures point to spillover effects. Monawar Hussain, the district's chief administrative officer, claimed cultivation declined after an eradication campaign last year, but Alcis imagery from 2026 shows no clear evidence of those efforts.
A similar pattern has emerged in Iran, where Afghan farmers work as tenants in provinces including Sistan-Baluchistan, Razavi Khorasan, and Kermanshah. Satellite imagery from 2026 shows extensive fields in Sistan-Baluchistan, some using drip irrigation. This costly investment suggests growers who planted in late 2025 expected little risk of eradication. Iranian authorities have been preoccupied with the war against the United States and Israel since late February, leaving the 2026 crop largely untouched.
Inside Afghanistan, cultivation is rebounding despite the ban. Production is concentrated in northeastern Badakhshan Province and several southwestern provinces. Mansfield reported that southwestern cultivation almost doubled between 2025 and 2026. Farmers in these areas have protested and defied the ban due to drought and debt. A recent directive barring home searches without a court order may be interpreted as a signal of tolerance, potentially leading to a dramatic rise in production in 2027.
