Pakistan Signs Accord Against Drug Trafficking

UN And Pakistan Sign Accord To Strengthen Battle Against Drug Trafficking, Crime

In a bid to enhance law enforcement in states bordering Afghanistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today announced a new technical assistance agreement to strengthen key agencies in Pakistan in the battle against drug trafficking and organized crime.

“Investigating and dismantling criminal groups engaged in drug trafficking and organized crime requires a strong intelligence capacity,” the Vienna-based agency said in a statement. “In the context of an increased need for strengthening law enforcement capacity in countries surrounding Afghanistan, it is vital to strengthen Pakistan’s intelligence capacity.”

The agreement, signed by senior UNODC representative Bernard Frahi and Pakistan’s Minister of Interior and Nacrcotics Control, Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday, provides for an $811,000 two-year project to better equip the country’s law enforcement agencies to conduct intelligence-led operations against the two scourges.

The agencies will be offered advisory services, training and relevant equipment. Immediate beneficiaries include the Anti Narcotics Force, the Frontier Corps which operates in the two key border areas of North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, and the Federal Investigation Agency.

In recognition of the importance of cross-border cooperation at an operational level among neighbouring states, the project will also support regional collaboration among Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

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