ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have agreed to further enhance intelligence sharing and joint border patrolling to check narcotics trafficking.
This consensus was evolved among anti narcotics force agencies of three countries at a two day trilateral conference held in Tehran on October 21 and 22.
The conference is a triangular initiative held in three countries in rotation and this time it was Iranian turn to hold this conference. Director Generals of anti narcotics agencies of all three countries along with their supporting staff participated in the conference.
Well placed source at United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime(UNODC), Friday, told this scribe that main agenda for the conference was to review measures for border line surveillance through an enhanced mechanism of joint patrolling and other measures.
“The participants of the conference were unanimous on rooting out the menace from the society because of its nefarious social and moral impacts” the source added saying that conference also analyzed the volume of required investment for establishment of an effective mechanism for checking narcotics smuggling from Afghanistan to Pakistan and Iran.
“The conference also expressed serious concerns over the increased volume of land for cultivation of poppy in Afghanistan” the source added saying that poppy had been cultivated on more than 38% land in Afghanistan than the previous year.
“But there was also a realization at conference level that it was unjustified to blame the Afghan anti narcotics force for its failure in checking poppy cultivation” the source observed adding that Afghan anti narcotics agency did not have any control over those areas because far flung areas were notorious for poppy cultivation.
“Similarly, the conference was also of the view that those areas also fell under actual control of the US and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan and these foreign forces had also failed in checking poppy cultivation despite spending billions of dollars for the purpose” the source opined.
It is pertinent to note here that anti narcotics activities are being held under the supervision of United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC). According to UNODC, Pakistan is a transit, destination, and to a lesser extent, producing country for drugs and precursor chemicals. It is also a transit, source and destination country for trafficked persons for the purposes of forced labour and sexual exploitation and people smuggled to other states. This illicit traffic poses significant challenges to border management – a critical issue for economic development and security.
