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Govt to expand anti-narcotics operations: Moin

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board launched here by Federal Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider on behalf of the United Nations on Wednesday described listed Pakistan as a success story in the control of drug traffic during last year.

The Interior minister who also manages narcotic control apparatus of the nation ascribed the success to stringent and diligent controls exercised by the Excise officials, customs, the police, rangers and the coast guard and declared that Pakistan would expand these operations and also the force needed for controls.

One important reason for "the feather in the cap" was extension of anti-drug operations to the tribal areas, especially Dir where poppy was grown previously on a larger scale. He said the authorities were also moving against so-called "refining laboratories" in socalled distant places.

He said his mission was complete eradication of drug culture and make the task of smugglers impossible. The minister said he had recently heard that poppy was being grown in some places in the Khyber and asked the frontier scouts to move in and destroy the crop.

Similarly, he said a visiting Iranian deputy minister had recently conveyed to him the concern of his government that Afghanis were siphoning the narcotics through their country and wanted the Pakistan government to relay their concern to Kandhar based Taliban administration, Moinuddin said while other departments were being "right-sized" the anti-narcotics forces under him were being strengthened and expanded to combat "this nuisance and the gravest crime against humanity".

But he said the controls and stamping of crops was not enough to fight this problem. What was needed urgently was attractive programmes for the rehabilitation of the addicts in the society after they "kick the habit".

Also he said it was essential that traditional poppy growing areas should be compensated properly for diversifying their crops. He agreed that the Afghanistan was the bulk producer of the poppy but said by sanctions, boycotts and other coercive methods one could not get good results.

The Afghan need sympathy instead of condemnation. A supper power was in occupation of their country for a decade and it destroyed their infrastructure while it was retreating and the nation now needed assistance to rebuilt the country, he said.

A journalist drew his attention to the reported statement by the Northern Allliance accusing the Taliban administration of encouraging poppy growing and export, the Interior minister wondered about the authenticity of the statement but pointed out that Taliban occupied more than 90 percent of the country and had shown that there was peace in those areas except of course along the lines of control where both the groups were fighting. Crimes against women had also decreased and Taliban wanted to restore contacts with the world governments, he added.

Moinuddin Haider said that it was the duty of the world community to attend to the needs of Afghanistan. He also called upon the International Narcotics Control Board to activate the agriculture programme in Afghan to divert them from growing poppy. One of the thirteen members of the INCUBI Dil Jan Khan, said that in the year under review (1999) Afghan had sharply increased the poppy growing to a record level of about 4,600 tonnes which amounted to 75 percent of the world cultivation. However, the Taliban had agreed to reduce it by one-third during the next year. Another factor of concern to the INCB, Khan said was the shifting of the manufacturing apparatus from Pakistan to Afghanistan where it had gone underground. this situation, he said was causing concern not only in West asia but also Europe and rest of the world.

Dil Jan Khan said that his board was concerned about the rapid spread of illicit crop cultivation and trafficking in the abuse of drugs, especially heroin, in countries in central Asia.

He particularly names Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan in central Asia and Caucasus which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. He said there were inadequate resources to deal with this problem and it could have devastating consequences for societies in those sub-regions.

The reports said that Turkey continued to be the major transit point for heroin destined for Europe.