Drug Trade on Pakistani Frontier May Fuel Radical Islamic Terrorism

INTERNATIONAL July 1993

Lawlessness in the desolate Northwest Frontier of Pakistan includes a burgeoning trade in heroin and hashish which in turn provides a haven and resources for Islamic fundamentalist groups seeking a cause. Authorities fear this could turn into a staging ground for terrorists. According to the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board, acreage of opium in the Northwest Frontier has risen from about 15,000 in 1986 to nearly 25,000 in 1992 (Marcus Brauchli, "Pakistan's Wild Frontier Breeds Trouble: Drugs, Terrorism Could Overflow Into Other Regions," Wall Street Journal, 6/3/93, A10).