Opium Production in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction to the size and scope of opium production in three South Asian nations provides historical context to demonstrate how each country became a major source of opium. It describes the new market conditions and scrutinizes counter-measures employed in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. The chapter draws from the existing theoretical literature on crime prevention, namely the situational crime prevention and routine activity approach, and on experiences from other countries to frame discussion on what could work and what most likely won’t work in suppressing and preventing the supply of opium. It discusses how counter-measures in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan could be improved by drawing insights from two criminological perspectives: situational crime prevention and routine activity approach. In 1947, colonial India was partitioned and Pakistan became an independent sovereign state. Afghanistan, like Pakistan, is a comparatively recent source of opium, entering the global market during the mid-1950s.