Majority of Afghan bombs made with Punjabi fertiliser

The main ingredient in most of the bombs that have killed hundreds of British, American and other Nato troops in Afghanistan is fertiliser produced by a single company in Pakistan.

Enough calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser for at least 140,000 bombs was legally produced last year by Pakarab Fertilizers Ltd., then smuggled by militants across the border into Afghanistan, according to western officials.

The United States military estimates around 80 per cent of Afghan bombs are made with the fertiliser, which becomes a powerful explosive when mixed with fuel oil.

The only producer of calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser in Pakistan, Pakarab operates two factories in Punjab, the country’s agricultural heartland.

The largest is on the outskirts of Multan. A sprawling industrial complex of smoking chimneys, pipes and tanks surrounded by high walls, the 39-year-old facility churns out the chemical 24 hours a day when operating.

Lines of trucks wait outside to transport sacks of fertiliser to 2,000 distributors around the country, who then sell it to cotton, fruit and wheat farmers.

Around Multan, dealers sit in small shops in front of piled-up sacks of ammonium nitrate and other fertiliser, haggling with farmers. Most say they are aware ammonium nitrate can be used as an explosive, but none has been told to report suspicious purchases.

Pakistani fertiliser producers are not permitted to export to Afghanistan because they are subsidised by the government and their products are meant for domestic use only. But the low price of fertiliser in Pakistan, and a chronic shortage in Afghanistan, has meant smuggling has long been rife.

The chemical, known as CAN, is often trucked into southern Afghanistan repackaged as a harmless fertiliser. Other times, it’s hidden under other goods, often after border guards have been paid a bribe, according to smugglers.

One dealer, Mohammad Wassem, said wealthy people with links to insurgents placed orders for all three fertilisers produced by Pakarab. They sold the two safer varieties domestically, then trucked the ammonium nitrate across the border.

Truck driver Ali Jan said he makes $20 each time he crosses the border with concealed sacks of fertiliser.

“I do not take banned items every time, but I make at least ten trips a month across the border carrying bags of fertiliser under other stuff,” Mr Jan said.

The fertilizer is sold in 110lb sacks, which can be used to make between two and four bombs depending on whether they are targeting vehicles or foot patrols, said Robin Best, an expert at the US military’s Joint IED Defeat Organisation, who visited the Multan factory in July.

Based on tests blast sites, and seizures of the chemical inside Afghanistan, the US military says up to 80 per cent of fertiliser bombs in Afghanistan are made of CAN produced by Pakarab.

Executives of Pakarab defended their right to sell what is a legal product well-suited to the soil and weather in Pakistan. They said the company had no way to dispute claims about where its fertiliser is ending up, but noted ammonium nitrate was produced in other countries around the region and that Pakistan also imported it.

Pakarab is now testing the feasibility of dyeing CAN to distinguish it from other fertilisers.

Such a process has never been tried before. Pakarab said the dyeing initiative was “encouraging”.

“The dye is a huge thing. It’s the first step that could have a profound impact,” Mr Best said.