After the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the 2004 exposure of Dr A.Q. Khan’s international nuclear proliferation network shattered Pakistan’s confidence, an emboldened Pakistan, under the strategic leadership of President Pervez Musharraf, clawed its way back into prominence. No longer confined to the limited double game of clandestinely selling nuclear know-how and overseeing its burgeoning opium- to-heroin business, Pakistan seized the opportunity to expand its narcotics portfolio to include the production and sale of methamphetamines, also known as ‘crystal meth,’ alongside its ongoing heroin trade.

In pursuit of this expansion, Pakistan had to not only extend structural oversight to the promising ‘crystal meth’ business but also had to provide a physically secure environment for its growth. While the former was achieved through extensive collaboration with the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel, the latter involved initiating a treacherous new jihad against the US to drive its military out of Afghanistan, a goal achieved by August 2021.

Pakistan has now evolved into the world’s first narco-state with its own independent nuclear deterrent.

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