Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran. The two faces of Balochistan - Illicit economies thrive in the spectre of Taliban stability. 

Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran. The two faces of Balochistan - Illicit economies thrive in the spectre of Taliban stability. 

(…) Balochistan stretches across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, at the heart of the Golden Crescent, one of the world’s most infamous drug trafficking hubs. In places where the state provides little support, smuggling is a way of life. The Baloch people, an ethno-linguistic minority, are politically marginalized and economically neglected. To these villagers, country borders are not barriers, but opportunities. Counterfeit goods, diesel, gold and drugs are carried across the rugged terrain, smuggled through gaps in fences and catapulted over them. Large convoys transport illicit freight through official crossings, where contraband is overlooked in exchange for informal ‘taxes’. (Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, Genf, 26.11.2025)

https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/the-two-faces-of-balochistan-taliban/