RAWALPINDI, Dec 16: The US government delivered counter- narcotics equipment worth $850,000 to Pakistan to fight against narcotics and to block the influx of opiates coming from Afghanistan.

The US Ambassador Ryan C Crocker handed over vehicles and security equipments to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in a simple ceremony held here at the ANF Headquarters on Saturday.

Addressing on the occasion, the US ambassador said: “The vehicles and security equipments handed over today is just one example of the US embassy’s well- established relationship with Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force.”

He pledged to continue to support the ANF in the fight against narcotics and Pakistan’s efforts to block the influx of opiates coming from Afghanistan.

Mr Crocker said that the US government has been a partner of the ANF since its inception in 1995 and a supporter of Pakistan’s counter-narcotics goals for more than two decades. Two hundred ballistic helmets, 150 body armour and more than 70 operational vehicles were provided to the ANF by the US government.

Mr Crocker said that additional vehicles, surveillance and communication equipments would also be provided to the ANF in next several months. The equipments are part of the $8 million package committed by the US embassy’s narcotics affair section and dedicated to equipping the ANF as they expand their operation to confront the global narcotics threat.

Mr Crocker said that these equipments were part of the $30 million package of supplemental funding the US. This supplemental funding would further cement Pakistan and United State ties in their common goal to interdict opiates that effect millions of lives worldwide.

Earlier, the director general ANF, Major General Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery in his address of welcome thanked the US government for their invaluable support, and said that Pakistan was both a victim as well as transit country because of its geographical proximity to Afghanistan.

The DG said the situation had taken a turn for the worse because of the unprecedented increase in the opium production in Afghanistan.

However, the DG said, the ANF had confronted this daunting challenge with unflinching resolve and zeal.

The DG said the ANF had made record seizures, increased its drug demand reduction activities and was promoting result-oriented international cooperation.