Tariq Jamaldini
Whenever one hears the name of Afghanistan many things start revolving around in mind such as explosions in Kabul, Suicide attacks in Kandahar and slogans against the foreign interventions.
But one thing is more notorious about Afghanistan which is Drug trafficking, Heroin smuggling and the Heroin king pings attached to it. The drug lords in Afghanistan have established huge empires and businesses, thanks to the huge growth of poppy.
In Afghanistan drug industry, one of the most notorious men was Jumma Khan Mohammad Hassani, a Baloch Drug lord. Jumma Khan is ethnically a Baloch, who belongs to Nimroz province of Afghanistan. He belongs to the Mohammad Hasni tribe which lives in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
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Jumma Khan Aka Abdullah established his heroin labs in Baramcha along with Pakistan’s Porous Border with Afghanistan. Balochistan border area between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran is one of the most remote and lawless places on Earth. Two hundred thousand square miles of desert sandy dunes are broken only by spindly granitic eruptions. Ethnic Baloch and Pashtun tribes that control the area are heavily armed and have been involved in various kinds of smuggling for centuries.
Bramcha, a Bordering area between Pakistan and Afghanistan was the strong hold of Jumma Khan Hasni. He established relations with Taliban in 2001 and developed its Drug business. He had been the drug King pin in Afghanistan since 1990. In Bramcha, his guest house was the Main point For Taliban operations. Taliban leaders usually stayed in his home and planned Operations. Haji always served them with open heart; Dinner and lunches were usual. Some allege that Taliban got large cache of Ammunition and other explosives from Mr. Khan as well.
Jumma Khan made huge amount of money from Drug business. He cultivated millions of tons of poppy and then processed them in form of Heroin and other drugs. He built underground bunkers to save the huge pile of Drugs. He established many labs of Drugs to expand his business but Drug trafficking was the major source of his income. He used to send drug caravans in neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran, equipped with heavy ammunition. He exported his drugs from Pakistan, Iran and Middle East to all the way in western countries, which made him a notorious Drug Kingpin.
Along with Taliban, Jumma Khan had relations with other Drug kingpins and politicians in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. In Chagai district of Pakistan, which is the main route of drug trade, Jumma offered a politician to buy him a huge area of land. He also presented a huge sum of Zakat to Taliban leaders and in return he made his business safe. Protection of Drug routes, labs and opium poppy fields was the duty of Taliban.
Strange thing was that Jumma Khan was also an ally of USA in Afghanistan. According to New York Times, Jumma Khan was a longtime informer of USA, who provided information about Taliban, corruption and other drug traffickers. CIA officers and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) relied on him as a valued source for years. Allegedly, Mr. Khan also flew to America and held Meetings with CIA officials and was paid a huge sum. Jumma Khan also worked with Wali Karzai, Brother of the then President of Afghanistan, to take the control of Drug operations.
Jumma Khan enjoyed his life with huge fortunes of money. He enjoyed the company of Americans and Taliban simultaneously. He traveled to USA and many other countries as his caravans supplied the drugs to those markets. Although Jumma Khan was a Drug lord but he was well respected in his tribe.
One fine morning in 2008, Mr. Khan was called for a meeting in Jakarta Indonesia by US officials where He was arrested and transported to USA. He was charged with Anti-Terrorism Acts and Narcotics Acts. According to one American official “The arrest of Haji Jumma Khan is another important step in the continuing efforts to fight terrorism by stopping the flow of Narcotics proceeds that help fund the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.”
Edwards Follis, then Country Attaché and lead advisor to US Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan made relations with Khan and got him arrested. For this purpose he communicated for two years with him and gained his trust. Since 2008, Jumma Khan Mohammad Hassani, the notorious Drug Lord is Languishing in a US Jail.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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