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Task force set up to stop drug peddling at schools

By Our Correspondent
November 26, 2019

Sindh’s chief minister on Monday set up a high-powered task force to control the smuggling of narcotics into cities in general and to stop drug peddling at educational institutions in particular.

Syed Murad Ali Shah took this decision during a meeting at the CM House. He said that not only are narcotics being smuggled into cities through the borders shared with other provinces and countries but drugs are also being peddled in the cities as well as their educational institutions.

“Their penetration into schools is quite dangerous. We have to work together to stop them right at the borders before they come into the cities and from there into schools.” The chief executive claimed that heroin and cannabis are smuggled into the country from Afghanistan, cocaine from South Africa, and ice and synthetic drugs from China.

The CM’s task force on narcotics will comprise senior officials such as the Sindh Rangers and police chiefs, the excise minister and secretary, the health minister and secretary, the law adviser, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) regional director and the provincial heads of the intelligence agencies.

In consultation with all the agencies, Shah decided to form three committees under his task force. Rangers Director General Maj Gen Omer Ahmed Bukhari will head a committee for surveillance of Sindh’s borders with other provinces so that smuggling of drugs can be controlled.

The committee under Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam will monitor and carry out operations with the Rangers and other agencies against drug dealers, peddlers and traffickers in the province.

They will coordinate with the administrations of educational institutions to curb drug penetration. The administrations and the parents will be taken into confidence to develop a mechanism to purge educational institutions of drugs. The third committee will be headed by CM’s law adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab to strengthen prosecution to pursue narcotics-related cases in the courts of law.

The cases registered against drug smugglers and dealers will be prepared with proper attention and expertise so that strong cases can be taken to the courts.

The CM directed the chief secretary to notify the task force. He also directed the police chief to prepare tasks for the committees in consultation with the Rangers and other agencies so that they can be taken up like a crusade to save the future generations.

Shah also suggested forming another committee under the health department to work for the rehabilitation of heroin and other drug addicts to bring them back to normal life.

The meeting was told that Pakistan shares 2,611 kilometres of border with Afghanistan, so strict measures need to be taken there to prevent drug smuggling.

This task was assigned to ANF Regional Director Brig Mansoor Ahmed Janjua to further coordinate with his counterparts in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Janjua said Pakistan was declared poppy-free in 2001, so the borders for smugglers should be sealed.

The meeting observed that the trend of using synthetic elements for the production of cocaine and other drugs is on the rise among the youth. On this the chief executive said that this is the actual task for which they all were sitting in the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, Excise Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla, CM’s Principal Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro, Health Secretary Zahid Abbasi, Excise Secretary Haleem Shaikh, Excise DG Shoaib Siddiqui and the provincial heads of the intelligence agencies.