RAWALPINDI, Dec 6: The shifting of focus from the anti- narcotics campaign to war on terrorism has caused the re- emergence of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan. This was stated by an official of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in a presentation at the sixth meeting of senior law- enforcement officers from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran here on Tuesday.

The meeting aimed at exchanging mutual views and preparing a joint strategy for combating the increasing cultivation and trafficking of opium products.

The meeting was presided over by Brig Sikandar Ali, Director ANF Headquarters, Rawalpindi, while Iranian and Afghan delegations were headed by Gen Syed Kamal Saadat and Syed Raza Agha Mir, respectively. Representatives of the United Nations Office on Drug Control were also present.

In the presentation, Brig Anwarul Haq of the ANF said due to the ongoing war in Afghanistan and tribal areas drug trafficking had enormously increased and the traffickers were entering Pakistan through the porous border.

He said due to the situation, the poppy-free status of Pakistan was under threat.

He stated that the poppy cultivation immensely increased in Afghanistan after the disintegration of Taliban regime. “Lack of dedicated aerial platforms for early detection and insufficient funding by donor countries for alternative livelihood projects was another factor in the increasing level of poppy cultivation.”

The proposals by the three countries to control poppy products would be forwarded to the Inter-Governmental Technical Committee for further steps to combat the menace trough provision of modern and advanced technologies to the law-enforcement agencies of the respective countries.

Iran in its presentation proposed launching of joint border patrolling with the Afghan government.

The Iranian official said most of the opium products were smuggled to his country through the Afghan-Iran border, adding that there must be a joint patrolling on the border.