Cooperation of Gulf states sought in fight against drugs
By Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Nov 23: Pakistan will seek cooperation from the Gulf states to evolve a joint strategy to combat increasing drug trafficking through the region, a senior official said.
Maj-Gen Nadeem Ahmad, Director-general of the ANF, said that Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan had already started joint efforts to fight against the menace of drug trafficking. He said that efforts were under way to engage the Gulf countries to design regional strategy for launching combined efforts for the eradication of drug trafficking.
Talking to Dawn here at the inaugural session of the two-day workshop held to raise awareness among the district government functionaries on Tuesday, he said that drug trafficking could not be eliminated unilaterally and it required international cooperation.
He said that Islamabad, Kabul and Tehran had already formed a joint group and the three neighbouring countries were cooperating in intelligence sharing to block the flow of drugs, being supplied from the region to international drug markets across the world.
He pointed out that after the booming heroin production in Afghanistan the flow of drugs had increased through Pakistan and various law-enforcement agencies had seized about 10,000 kilograms of heroin, morphine and 118,000 kilograms of hashish since January last.
Pakistan is receiving financial and technical assistance from the US and Britain to eradicate poppy cultivation, drug trafficking and to rehabilitate drug addicts. The US government has provided $73 million for the border security and equipment.
Quoting from a recent report of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes on Afghan Opium Cultivation, Gen Ahmad said that poppy crop was being cultivated over 131,000 hectares of land in Afghanistan during the current sowing season, showing a 64 per cent increase over the last year.
Last year the poppy was cultivated over 80,000 hectares in Afghanistan. Roughly, the ANF chief said, Afghanistan would produce 420 tons of heroin during current harvesting season of which about 200 tons of heroin was likely to be smuggled out via Pakistan, Iran and other neighbouring countries.
Earlier, speaking at the workshop, Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Ghous Bux Khan Mahar stressed the need for joint efforts to curb the menace of drug addiction from society.
The two-day training workshop has been arranged by the ANF in collaboration with Narcotics Affairs Section, US embassy, for creating awareness among the district government functionaries.
The minister said that the district governments could play pivotal role in eradicating drugs and the federal government was ready to provide support to districts in this regard.
Initially, he said, awareness creation programme had been started in the four districts of the NWFP - Peshawar, Swabi, Swat and Dir - and it would be extended to other parts of the country.
Head of the NAS Kristen Posani said that virtually Pakistan was a poppy-free country in the year 2000, but there was a resurgence of the banned plant in recent years. She said that the NAS had been assisting Pakistan for the last 20 years to eradicate poppy cultivation.
