450 posts will be created for a separate provincial force

KARACHI: The Sindh government is likely to have its own fully trained and dedicated narcotics control force to curb smuggling of all kinds of narcotics into the province from other parts of the country, Daily Times
has learnt.

After the 18th Constitutional Amendment, all narcotics wings were transferred to four provinces – Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa. In 2013, all the provinces formed a separate narcotics wing and the department’s name was changed to Excise, Taxation and Narcotics.

“The provincial excise, taxation and narcotics department has been facing acute shortage of staff that has led to abolishing excise check posts on many spots on highways and at specially Hub, the entry point to Sindh from Balochistan”, sources said.

According to sources, the federal government has constituted a National Narcotics Control Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary Narcotics having Sindh Chief Secretary as the committee member that holds its meeting once a year.

Similarly, there is a provincial narcotics control committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary having representatives of Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG), Maritime Security Agency (MSA), Pakistan Customs and other law enforcing agencies. Then, there are divisional narcotics control committees and district narcotics control committees under the chairmanship of division’s commissioners and deputy commissioners, respectively.

In 2013, the Sindh’s excise, taxation and narcotics department had floated a summary seeking the approval of at least 450 SNEs from the finance department however the summary in this connection is pending there since past few years, the sources added.

“The separate anti narcotics force will comprise 450 staff members that will work under Director General BS-20 officer, while there will be three Directors, five Assistant Directors, Assistant Excise Taxation Officer (AETOs), and other staffs”.

“We are pursuing the matter with the finance department and once the summary is approved, we will start recruitment for the narcotics control force”, the DG added.