Peshawar   -    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Tuesday directed the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department to modernise the tax collection system by introducing E-Initiatives so as to extend the maximum facilitation to tax payers. He also directed the authorities concerned to undertake a comprehensive review of all prevailing laws and rules and propose necessary amendments to bring them at par with contemporary needs. Presiding over a progress review meeting of the Excise Department, the Chief Minister clarified that the incumbent provincial government is committed to rooting out the menace of drugs in the province, adding that all available resources will be put to use to safeguard the younger generation against this nuisance. Advisor to the CM on Excise & Taxation Mian Khaleeq-ur-Rehman, Principal Secretary to CM Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Excise & Taxation Adeel Shah and other concerned senior officials attended the meeting. While briefing the meeting on the reform initiatives of the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department, it was informed that under the Universal Number Plate Initiative, 5000 Universal Number Plates have been issued whereas the issuance of additional 35,000 Number Plates is in progress. The participants were also briefed about the steps taken for narcotics control and it was told that as per the instructions of the provincial government, the Excise Department has tightened the noose around the drug peddlers and drug smuggling. During last one month, 40 cases have been registered against drug traffickers and peddlers, 50 accused arrested while 33 vehicles used in narcotics smuggling have been seized. Similarly, in the same period, 246kg of hashish, 60kg of heroin, 104kg of opium and around 10kg of crystal meth (ice) were also confiscated. As per the instructions of the Chief Minister, intelligence- based targeted operations are being carried out for narcotics seizures. Since August 2020, 674 cases have been registered and 742 individuals arrested while 411 vehicles used in drug smuggling have been apprehended. Similarly, during the same period, 5685kg of hashish, 601kg heroin, 359kg opium, 206kg ice and 960 litres of alcohol were seized. Briefing the participants about tax collection by the Excise Department, it was informed that during the current fiscal year, the department has made significant increase in tax recovery. Rs1182 million have been collected in the first four months of the current financial year