PESHAWAR, Jan 26: Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah said on Monday that from now on those found involved in poppy cultivation in Fata would be penalised, as the policy of only destroying the standing crop did not work out to eradicate the menace.

He was speaking at a function of the customs collectorate, Peshawar, held here on Monday to mark the International Customs Day. On the occasion, some 11 tons charas, 57,000 cigarettes (copies of international brands) and 93 packets of fire crackers, seized over the last one year from different parts of the province, were also set on fire.

Syed Iftikhar Shah said the event of destroying contraband had merely become a ritual as it could not help stop people from growing the illegal crop and smuggling the contraband.

"What message the department wants to give to the community by holding this function every year?" asked the governor, saying: "Whether we want to show the department's performance or tell the people that whatever measures be taken to eradicate the problem, the menace would prevail."

He said the confiscated contraband put on fire every year was the tip of the iceberg and added that the problem of drug trafficking and poppy cultivation in parts of Fata and the NWFP was of serious nature."We don't know the magnitude of the problem," said the governor.

"We just go to areas to destroy the standing crop when we come to know about its existence. We have become reactive. But now we will have to do away with this tendency if we want to eliminate the menace from society."

"The government has decided to apply strict punitive measures to tackle the problem of drug trafficking and poppy cultivation," said the governor. Speaking to newsmen after putting the drugs and other contraband goods on fire, the governor said the law provided for six to seven years imprisonment for indulgence in poppy cultivation.

He also emphasised the need to carry out an analysis on the part of the customs authorities to ascertain the root cause of the menace. The customs department, he added, had an important role to play to eradicate the problem and promote economy and industry in the country.