ISLAMABAD, July 6: The Afghan delegation at the conclusion of a two-day inter-government technical committee meeting here on Tuesday expressed its willingness to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) , which Pakistan and Iran have already signed, to check smuggling of narcotics in the region.

The meeting of the committee, comprising Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, was organized by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

The Afghan team led by Mirwais Yasin was for the first time invited to attend the deliberations. It was the fourth meeting of the committee. The nine-member delegation from Iran was headed by Dr Ali Hashim, vice-president and secretary-general of Drug Control Headquarters, while secretary Narcotics Control Khalid Latif led the Pakistani team.

The Afghan delegation was offered to sign an MoU which it accepted. However, the signing will take some time in the future. The issue of drugs and its smuggling across the borders was discussed in detail.

Sharing of information about drugs and its traffickers among the law-enforcement agencies of the three countries on monthly as well as occurrences basis was stressed.

The meeting also focused on the ways and means to curb the ongoing drug trafficking in the region as the world has often been expressing concern over the poppy cultivation, especially in Afghanistan.

Establishment of intelligence network, designation of focal persons in their respective embassies, training of Afghan officers in Pakistan and Iran to check the production of poppy crop and provision of alternative livelihood also came under discussion.