ISLAMABAD, June 26: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday said the government was committed to the elimination of drug abuse from the country and rehabilitation of addicts.Talking to Narcotics Control Minister Ghaus Bukhsh Mehr, who presented him the annual report of the Anti-Narcotics Force for 2005, he said all relevant government authorities and agencies should mobilize themselves and redouble their efforts to check proliferation of synthetic drugs.

The prime minister said those involved in the trade would be given exemplary punishment.

He said the civil society and non-government organizations had a critical role to play in the rehabilitation of the addicts. He called upon all the segments of society to come forward and play their roles in this regard.

He said the objective of the government was to create a drug-free society and it was working on a long-term strategy to discourage people from the use of drugs.

Later, speaking at a press conference at his residence, Mr Mehr said there was no cultivation of poppy in Balochistan this year.

In the NWFP, out of 7,000 acres where poppy had been grown, the government had destroyed the crop on 1,000 acres, but it was taking measures to ensure that there was no cultivation in future, he said.

Answering a question, he said there was need to discourage cultivation in Afghanistan by rehabilitating the residents.

The minister said the government had decided to speed up erecting fences and setting up checkpoints along the Iranian border to discourage drug smuggling. He said he wanted to increase the number of ANF personnel because the current strength of 1,400 to 1,500 was not enough to control the situation.