WATCH: Shehbaz Sharif's close aide admits to Pak smugglers using drones to drop drugs in Punjab

For the first time, Pakistan has admitted that smugglers from the country have been using drones to smuggle drugs to the Indian state of Punjab. The acceptance came from none other than Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s close aide, Special Assistant on Defence Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan. In an interview with senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, Khan, a member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Kasur, a city that borders India’s Punjab, was asked about the cross-border smuggling of narcotics, to which he replied in the affirmative. “Yes, and it (smuggling) is very scary. Recently there have been two incidents where 10 kg heroin was tied to each drone and thrown across,” Khan said, claiming that the agencies have been trying to stop this. Sharing a clip from Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan’s interview on Twitter, Mir wrote, “Big disclosure by PM’s (Shehbaz Sharif) 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.”

Pakistan using drones to smuggle drugs in India As per the data released by Punjab Police earlier in July, 795 FIRs were registered under the NDPS Act from July 2022-2023 in Ferozepur district alone. Pakistan’s Kasur City is situated just across Punjab’s Khemkaran and Ferozepur. A large amount of drugs was seized from those districts of Punjab that border Pakistan, the data stated. BSF officers in Punjab have said that despite India having repeatedly raised issues with Pakistan, cross-border smuggling of drugs and arms has continued through the use of drones. In 2023 alone, 260 kg of heroin, 19 arms, 30 magazines, 470 rounds of ammunition and 30 Pakistani drones were recovered from Punjab’s border areas, a report by The Indian Express quoted a BSF officer as saying. Mobile signals in Kasur jammed Khan’s admission of drugs being smuggled from Pakistan using drones is significant as it is first by a person in authority in the country, Mir was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “Malik Mohammad Ahmad Khan is very close to the political and military establishment in Pakistan. He was very close to the previous Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and also to the present military hierarchy,” Mir to the Daily on the phone from Pakistan. Mir was asked what prompted him to ask Khan about the smuggling of drugs using drones, to which the journalist said he had been touring Kasur, which is surrounded by India on three sides. “These villagers (in Kasur) say they get no mobile signals. They spoke about movement of drones and smuggling of drugs from Pakistan into India and liquor from India into Pakistan. Khan told me that mobile signals here are jammed by security agencies due to cross-border drone movements,” Mir said. Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan facing backlash for speaking truth about Pakistan The Pakistani journalist said that after the video was aired, Khan has been facing backlash from his country’s establishment. “He has faced criticism for his comments… he is also facing much backlash from his constituents for the lack of mobile phone connectivity and has tried to justify the same by citing examples of drug smuggling,” Mir said.