Pakistan is facing a serious and complex drug situation. There is illicit cultivation of opium, illicit production of heroin, illicit trafficking in narcotics, and an increasing abuse of drugs; Over 3 million persons are estimated to be abusing some type of illicit drug; half are addicted to heroin. There is growing evidence that a nexus exists between drug traffickers and international criminal syndicates. The Government of Pakistan has mounted a strategy to counter the drug problem; however, its effectiveness is restrained by the difficulty of controlling mountainous and uninhabited borders and the limited human and economic resources available for drug law enforcement and prevention. Measures undertaken include crop substitution and the provision of a developmental infrastructure in the poppy-growing areas, the control of the illicit conversion of opium into heroin, the destruction of heroin laboratories, narcotics control through law enforcement, antismuggling measures, demand reduction, treatment programs for drug addicts, and other administrative and legislative control measures. Pakistan's involvement in efforts to increase international cooperation in drug control is also discussed.