Satellites Detect 9,000 Hectares of New Poppy Fields in Balochistan
Afghan farmers are leasing land in Pakistan and Iran to grow opium after the Taliban ban, creating a new border production hub.
By Marco Kapoor ·
Satellite imagery analyzed by the British firm Alcis has identified more than 9,000 hectares of poppy cultivation in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The data, released in an August report by UK expert David Mansfield, marks a sharp increase in production in the region. Mansfield, who wrote the report, stated that these remote borderlands have effectively become a global center for opium production.
The shift follows the Taliban's 2022 ban on illicit narcotics in Afghanistan. While output inside Afghanistan has dropped, cultivation has moved across the border into Pakistan and Iran. Mansfield noted that Afghan farmers from Kandahar and Helmand provinces are crossing into Balochistan to lease land. These farmers bring capital and technical knowledge, investing millions of Pakistani rupees in solar-powered wells to support the crops.
Most of the new fields in Pakistan are located in the districts of Loralai and Killa Abdullah. Abdul Qahar Wadan, a former National Assembly member, said cultivation in Killa Abdullah is widespread and allegedly supported by senior military officials. Monawar Hussain, the district's chief administrative officer, disputed this claim, citing a local eradication campaign from last year. However, 2026 imagery from Alcis shows no clear signs of large-scale crop destruction in the area.
Local residents attribute the expansion to economic pressure and insecurity. Lala Jan Kakar, a resident of Killa Abdullah, explained that drought and flash floods have damaged traditional fruit farming. He said the income from poppies is significantly higher than from fruits, making the switch difficult to resist. An anonymous farmer in the same district alleged that growers pay bribes to local authorities through intermediaries to avoid detection.
A similar trend is visible in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province. Satellite images from 2026 show extensive poppy fields, some equipped with drip irrigation. This infrastructure suggests that growers planted in late 2025 with the expectation that the crops would not be destroyed. Iranian authorities have been focused on their conflict with the United States and Israel since late February, leaving the 2026 crop largely intact.
Mansfield observed that farmers in these border regions are moving away from mixed agriculture. He described a shift toward large-scale poppy monoculture, where entire plots are devoted to the opium plant. Poppies can be harvested twice a year, and many farmers doubled their cultivated land in 2026. Mansfield called this a stark indication that cultivation levels could rise further in 2027.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry and the Balochistan provincial government did not respond to requests for comment. Islamabad has previously denied reports of widespread opium cultivation and stated that any found crops were destroyed. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that Pakistan's opium production remains marginal but acknowledged that rising eradication figures point to spillover effects from Afghanistan.
