Islamabad
Expressing concerns over poppy production in Afghanistan despite presence of foreign forces, Minister for Narcotics Control Brig (Retd) Ijaz Shah has said that Pakistan wants to exchange effective intelligence with the Islamic Republic of Iran to strengthen joint cooperation against illicit drug trade.
In an interview to an Iranian news agency on Sunday, Ijaz Shah said that Iran and Pakistan have good coordination in narcotics control but there is always room for the improvement. He stressed it is a fact that no single country can achieve 100 percent results in the subject of narcotics until and unless there is coordination between the states. Shah said that Iran and Pakistan are not only in the same region but ‘we are neighbours and if we don’t have any coordination in the field of narcotics control, we cannot be successful. Iran and Pakistan have good coordination in narcotics control but there is always a room for the improvement.’
Shah said that a good thing is that the Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Police Chief Brigadier-General Majid Karimi has served in Pakistan and he knows the environment of Pakistan, he knows from where the drugs come into the two countries as Pakistan and Iran are the victim states. The minister said demand of the narcotics in Pakistan and Iran and in the entire world should be reduced when it will be reduced supply will definitely be reduced. ‘I do look at enforcement and seizures but I think we have to work on demand reduction in an area which requires more attention, because if there is a demand for anything there would be supply despite all efforts,’ he said.
‘Drug dealers have two routes, one is Iran and Pakistan and the other is Europe and they use both the routes so we are the victim states. These drugs affect all the countries on such routes,’ he said. In response to a question that the cruel and unilateral US sanctions are affecting the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to combat the evil of narcotics, the minister said: ‘The position of the Pakistan government in this regard is clear as we demand the lifting of sanctions.’—TLTP
