Daily Times

The menace of drugs has
engulfed the world at large. Every country is making every possible effort to curb it, especially those that are most hit by this menace, but unfortunately, the results are not as encouraging as are conceived and expected. The magnitude of the problem can well be imagined by having a look at the facts and figures that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) compiles and makes public every year. According to the UNODC World Drug Report-2011, the estimated annual global production of cannabis herb is over 966,000 tons, hashish over 9,900 tons, opium over 7,800 tons, heroin over 500 tons and cocaine over 1,100 tons. The production of synthetic drugs and proportion thereof abused by drug addicts, however, cannot be ascertained. Of these, 97 percent of the opium is produced by only three countries, i.e. Afghanistan (89 percent), Myanmar (four percent) and Mexico (four percent); 100 percent of the cocaine by only three countries, i.e. Columbia (52 percent), Peru (35 percent) and Bolivia (13 percent); and about 45 percent of the total hashish by only two countries, i.e. Afghanistan (35 percent) and Morocco (10 percent).

In other words, there are only eight to 10 countries that produce over 90 percent of the total narcotics in the world and then let them spread all over. It is even more unfortunate that except cocaine, only 10 to 20 percent of the total production of narcotics is intercepted and confiscated by law enforcement agencies all over the world, while the rest is consumed. According to the UNODC World Drug Report-2006, $ 350 billion is involved in the drugs business annually worldwide.

According to the UNODC Report-2011, out of the 4,533 million population of the world that falls within the age group of 15-64 years, the youth and the working group of the population, 321 million, which constitutes seven percent of the group, use these drugs.

Taking cognizance of this grave situation, the government of Pakistan approved and promulgated the National Anti-Narcotics Policy 2010, jointly conceived and drafted by the Ministry of Narcotics Control and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). Federal and provincial law enforcement agencies (20 in number) — Police, Excise, ANF, Frontier Corps, Pakistan Customs, Pakistan Rangers, ASF, Pakistan Coast Guards, etc — are responsible for implementing the policy and its provisions and to make efforts to achieve the ultimate goal of a drugs-free Pakistan. In 2012, all these agencies jointly registered 104,862 cases under various drug laws, arrested 104,009 persons, and recovered 29,481 kg opium, 1,369 kg morphine, 12,661 kg heroin, and 166,026 kg hashish from them. The ANForce, since its inception, is the premier agency of the country, which primarily concentrates on strategic seizures. The ANF is a very small organization, having a strength of less than 3,000 personnel, and is responsible for much more than its capacity, which includes 13 airports, three seaports, 17 dry ports, seven entry/exit points and 25 police stations all over the country.

Despite these challenges, the contribution of the ANF to curb the menace of drugs, prevent their spread in Pakistan and seize its export to other countries through Pakistan is proportionally very high. It plays strategically and goes after big drug trafficking cases. Being a very small force it does not have a capacity to go into the streets and run after petty drug peddlers. This type of run and chase is the duty of the police. The achievements of this small force are unmatched domestically as well as internationally, especially once seen from the standpoint of a meagre force and resources. Within Pakistan, it is the smallest force compared to all other law enforcement agencies, and internationally also the same is true.

The ANF not only works for drug-supply reduction but also equally works for drug-demand reduction in the country by creating mass awareness and community mobilisation against drug abuse. For that purpose, it arranges awareness activities, exploiting every possible ways and means. In 2012, the ANF and its Drug-Free City Lahore Project conducted 1,370 various kinds of awareness activities throughout Pakistan, particularly in Lahore, targeting the youth and labourers. Not only this, the ANF runs three Model Treatment Centres and three Drop-in Centres, one each in Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta, where chronic drug addicts are taken care of, treated and rehabilitated without charging any fee or expense of boarding and lodging. These centres take care of and provide relief and treatment to about 3,000 drug addicts annually.

After the suo motu notice of the Karachi situation by the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan and its directions to various law enforcement agencies, the ANF, besides being the strategic force, concentrated on the domestic environment and accelerated its efforts in Karachi as a special campaign under the name of Operation ‘Umeed-e-Nau’. The operation revolves around two cardinals, one within Karachi and the other on the movement of drugs to Karachi from upcountry. During the first ten days of the campaign, 38 clean-up operations, exclusively by the ANF, and 26 intelligence-led operations have been carried out, wherein 175 persons have been arrested/detained, and 88.6 kg heroin, 2.4 tons opium, 9.8 tons hashish, 27.5 tons poppy straw, 335 gm cocaine, 1,751 ecstasy tablets, 746 gm ecstasy powder and 2,176 bottles of liquor were seized from them.

On the down-country movement, more concerted efforts have been made. The Supreme Court of Pakistan is focusing on the affairs of Karachi, and the ANF with all its resources, side by side with other law enforcement agencies, is endeavouring to do its best. One can hope that these efforts will have long lasting effects and the situation in Karachi would improve in a positive manner.

The writer is a retired inspector general of the police department