Colombo : Sri Lanka is grappling with a severe influx of narcotics from neighboring Pakistan, facilitated by sophisticated international drug trafficking networks. This surge in drug flow is wreaking havoc on Sri Lankan society, driving addiction, crime, and social instability. The involvement of Pakistan's military-intelligence apparatus and other state actors in enabling and protecting these drug cartels is a well-known secret that the international community can no longer ignore.

The scale of the drug problem in Sri Lanka is staggering. Recently, Sri Lankan authorities arrested a Pakistani woman smuggling over 2.5 kg of heroin worth Rs. 73.5 million into the country. In another major bust last year, nine Pakistani traffickers were sentenced to ten years for attempting to traffic 614 kg of crystal meth and 581 kg of other drugs by boat. Additionally, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a Pakistani vessel carrying 86 kg of heroin worth over $80 million destined for Sri Lanka. These incidents represent just a fraction of the larger issue.

Drugs are primarily sourced from Afghanistan and smuggled via sea routes known as the "hash highways" that originate from Pakistan's Makran coast. Over $900 million worth of drugs have been seized in the Indian Ocean over the past two years by international naval forces patrolling these narco-trafficking corridors. Evidence increasingly ties these massive drug shipments to Pakistani intelligence agencies and terrorist groups using narco-terrorism to finance their activities. A 2015 UN report identified Pakistan as the primary transit point for nearly half of the Afghan-Pakistan heroin bound for global markets.

The presence of Pakistani drug networks extends across Sri Lanka and its neighboring countries. Four Sri Lankan ISIS operatives recently arrested in India were involved in drug trafficking linked to a Pakistani handler. Major drug busts have also occurred on Sri Lankan and Maldivian boats destined for Australia and Southeast Asia. Indian agencies regularly intercept Pakistani drug vessels carrying arms and narcotics worth hundreds of millions along both coastlines.

This web of narco-crime poses an existential security threat to Sri Lanka. The influx of cheap drugs is fueling addiction and despair, particularly among Sri Lanka's youth. Criminal syndicates profiting from the drug trade are undermining the economy and society with illicit financial flows. There are fears that portions of drug profits may even be diverted to fund extremist elements and terror networks, further destabilizing the nation.

Endemic corruption enables drug cartels to infiltrate law enforcement, government institutions, and the political system, holding the state hostage and crippling Sri Lanka's social and economic development. With the country already reeling from an economic crisis, the drug scourge threatens to ignite a vicious cycle of instability and unrest, endangering Sri Lanka's future.

The role of Pakistan's military-intelligence complex as the prime enabler and benefactor of this expansive drug trade can no longer be ignored. For decades, the Pakistani deep state has cultivated alliances with Afghan drug lords and international criminal syndicates, using narco-proceeds to finance terrorist proxies causing mayhem across South Asia.

Pakistan has long paid lip service to cooperating with the international community on counter-narcotics while simultaneously serving as a global logistics hub for the drug trade. Revelations continue to surface on how Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has managed narco empires stretching into Africa to fund global jihadi outfits.

The hypocrisy of Pakistan's stance is evident as it seeks Financial Action Task Force (FATF) redemption while acting as a major hub for narco-terrorism. The international community, including the United Nations and collective security forums like FATF, must intensify scrutiny and accountability for Pakistani state complicity with drug kingpins, criminal networks, and terror operatives.

Both China and the United States have converging interests in cracking down on Pakistani-origin drug networks destabilizing regional security. As a major creditor, Beijing should leverage its influence to compel the Pakistani military to sever ties with drug mafias and terror proxies.

Sri Lanka must prioritize shutting down the drug pipeline through enhanced legislation, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, and forging international security partnerships. A whole-of-society approach, harnessing community participation, is needed to wage a multi-front war against the drug menace. Without holding the Pakistani deep state accountable, the drug onslaught will persist, potentially plunging Sri Lanka into a cycle of narco-anarchy and societal damage.

Confronting Pakistan's narco-terrorism head-on is imperative for the stability and future of Sri Lanka, as well as for regional and global security.