ISLAMABAD: Minister for Narcotics Control Shah Zain Bugti on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that his ministry wanted to recruit around 10,000 personnel from across the country to effectively combat the menace of drugs.
Speaking on the floor of the House on the Demand for Grants of the Ministry of Narcotics Control in the next fiscal year, he said, the ministry had sought permission from the prime minister for the recruitment.
Currently, the minister said the ministry’s staff strength was 3,600 as its personnel were performing duties at airports, ports, and other border areas. He said the ministry was in contact with education ministries and provincial governments for the legislation to prevent drug-selling activities in educational institutions.
He said it had been proposed to impose a fine amounting to Rs 2 million over those educational institutions where drug-selling would be found, while Rs4 million on those found involved in selling narcotics there.
The minister said the annual seizure of narcotics in Pakistan stood at $8 billion and drugs worth $3 billion had been recently burnt in Quetta.