24 April 2004	Saturday	03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, April 23: The government has extended Anti-Drug Programme (ADP) for another five years and decided to restructure the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to ensure a drug free society.

Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, while talking to reporters after attending a briefing on drugs at Narcotics Control Division on Friday, said that drug smugglers provided monetary assistance to the terrorists and the extremists and the government was taking effective steps to shatter their networks.

"These people are well equipped and possess sophisticated weapons. We are also providing latest equipment and weapons to the ANF to combat them," he said. The minister said that the government had made a five-year plan for drug eradication which ended last year, but has been extended till 2008. "The restructuring of the ANF is included in the programme," he added.

The minister said that the meeting reviewed all the recommendations presented by the ANF to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali last month. The recommendations had already been approved by the prime minister.