UN narcotics body issues charge-sheet against Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: UN body the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has issued a charge-sheet against Pakistan, lamenting that narcotics are widely used but the authorities do not know the extent of drug abuse in the country.

The global body on narcotics control said that without a systematic assessment of drug addicts, no programme could be designed for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers.

The INCB in its annual report 2015, issued early this month, observed, “While drugs are widely abused in Pakistan, the extent of drug abuse in the country is not known to the authorities, as there has never been a systematic assessment of the nature, extent and patterns of drug abuse.” The report added, “The Board calls on the government to carry out an assessment of drug abuse, including the collection and analysis of data on the incidence, prevalence and other characteristics of drug abuse. Such an objective assessment is indispensable for the design of programs for the prevention of drug abuse and the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers.”

In addition, the INCB noted that little progress has been made in ensuring the availability of narcotic drugs for medical purposes in Pakistan. “Allocation of opioids (morphine, pethidine and fentanyl) is made by the Narcotics Control Division of the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control of Pakistan based on recommendations received from provincial governments. The availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, particularly opioids for the treatment of pain in medical institutions, continues to be inadequate.”

The INCB requested the Government of Pakistan to examine the current situation and take the steps necessary to ensure that narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, particularly opioids, are made available for medical purposes. The INCB encouraged the Government of Pakistan to make use of the Guide on Estimating Requirements for Substances under International Control in its efforts to do so.

The global narcotics control Board, however, acknowledged that some progress has been made by the Government of Pakistan in drug control since the mission of the Board to that country in 2012. The government, the report said, has introduced a number of measures to strengthen coordination among the relevant government agencies under the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, established in 2012.

The report said that the government has also strengthened its cooperation in the exchange of information on precursor chemicals with the neighbouring countries participating in several international initiatives. Pakistan has invoked Article 12, paragraph 10 (a) of the 1988 Convention and is actively using PEN (pre-export notification) Online to clear import and export shipments of precursors from and into the country. “The Board remains concerned that information on trafficking and seizures of precursor chemicals in Pakistan continues to be limited,” the INCB report 2015 said.

According to the report, while the majority of governments regularly submit the mandatory and voluntary statistical reports, the cooperation of some has not been satisfactory. ”Among the countries that failed to submit form P before the deadline of 30 June 2015 were major manufacturing, importing and exporting countries such as Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Spain and the United Kingdom.”