Regional Anti-narcotics Confab Underway in Islamabad

Islamabad, Nov 13, IRNA – Two-day Regional Ministerial Conference on Counter-narcotics began in Islamabad on Monday. The senior officials from thirteen regional countries participated in the first session of the meeting held at a local hotel. The delegations from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime participated in the meeting. Chief of Iran’s Anti Narcotics Force, Brigadier General Ali Moayedi led the Iranian delegation. The Iranian delegation actively participated in the session and gave proposals to counter the menace of narcotics. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani gave welcome remarks on the first session of the conference. Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Narcotics Control also spoke on the occasion. Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar will be visiting Pakistan to participate in the conference. The aim of the Ministerial Conference is to share national experiences in countering the menace of illicit drugs and discuss prospects of regional cooperation in developing pragmatic, comprehensive and sustainable ways of addressing the multifaceted challenge posed by illicit drugs’ production, demand and trafficking. The government of Pakistan has taken a number of steps in the recent past to address the growing threat of narcotics. As a result, Pakistan became a Poppy Free Country in 2011 and, currently, leads the world in narcotic drugs control, officials say. The production, demand and trafficking of narcotics is a serious threat, which transcends national boundaries. The whole idea of the conference is to exchange views and discuss concrete proposals because all these countries are the affected countries./end