ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Anne W. Patterson on Monday appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for eliminating drug trafficking and fighting terrorism.

In a meeting with Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in his office, the US official also commended the role of Pakistan in curbing human smuggling.

The minister told the US official that Pakistan attained the status of a poppy-free country in the year 2000 and it was being quoted as a ‘role model’ in the comity of nations.

He said this status was achieved by intensifying law- enforcement measures as well as imparting modern training to the officials of the Anti Narcotics Force and other agencies.

The minister said the governments of USA and Canada were assisting Pakistan in controlling human and drug trafficking.

He said an inter-agency task force headed by the director general FIA which included representatives of all law-enforcement agencies had been constituted to achieve coordination among all agencies concerned and stakeholders for making strategies to control drug and human smuggling.