PESHAWAR, May 29: Senator Nisar A. Memon, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence & Defence Production, has said that 90 per cent of world’s heroin is cultivated in Afghanistan. Speaking at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Mr Memon said that it was not his findings, but of a study conducted by a United States research agency, which had ranked Afghanistan the first among the states involved in poppy cultivation. According to the study, he said, Afghanistan had cultivated 87 per cent of the world’s total poppy crop, which was an alarming signal for the entire world.

Mr Memon, who arrived here to attend a meeting of the committee, said the government had been trying to stop the trafficking of contraband from the other side of the border into the tribal belt, but owing to the long and porous border it had been a difficult job to achieve 100 per cent results. Mr Memon said it was a collective task of the world community to fight a consistent war against this growing menace.

He stressed the need to implement consolidated laws across the country, including tribal areas, to end the trafficking of heroin. He proposed that Frontier Crimes Regulations could be made more effective by inserting some subclauses into them.

He said the use of new technology could also help in identifying the remote areas known for big poppy cultivation.

Replying to a question, Mr Memon said a free press and strong political institutions, including elected parliament, provincial assemblies and political parties were essential requirement for a democracy to flourish in a country. He said the central government during its first tenure, when technocrats were running the show, had introduced a number of bills, including Pemra laws, to govern the media on free, fair and modern pattern.

He said they had repealed a number of draconian laws, which were a left-over of old days.

About elections in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, he said all political parties should hold their elections as it was a basic requirement of democracy.