Rawalpindi - The Anti–Narcotics Force organised a high-level Inter-Agency Task Force meeting of the law enforcement agencies at ANF Headquarters on Tuesday.
Director General ANF Major General Musarrat Nawaz and Chairman IATF chaired the meeting which was also attended by FBR, Pakistan Coast Guards, FIA, FATA Secretariat, Pakistan Rangers Punjab, Pakistan Rangers Sindh, Frontier Corps KP, Frontier Corps Baluchistan, ICT Police, National Highways & Motorways Police, Pakistan Railways Police, Punjab Police, Sindh Police, KP Police, Baluchistan Police, Gilgit-Baltistan Police, Excise & Taxation Sindh, Excise & Taxation Baluchistan, Excise & Taxation Gilgit-Baltistan, Excise & Taxation AJK, Commissionerate Afghan Refugees KP, Malakand Levies, NLC and Civil Aviation Authority.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the prevalent challenges, synergize counter narcotics operations, fine tune coordination and cooperation among the LEAs for effective drug control and to accrue maximum benefits from the jurisdiction of the respective departments. During the meeting, the performance of all LEAs for the year 2017 was analyzed. Suggestions to improve the operational effectiveness of the IATF members were also taken from all LEAs for initiating follow-up actions.
The forum was apprised that during 2017, a total number of 50449 drug trafficking related cases were registered with arrest of 52457 persons involved in drug smuggling, while 325.23 metric tons narcotics of various kinds.
Emphasis was also laid on formulation of a collaborated mechanism to fight the menace of drug abuse. Moreover, the need to improve cooperation in different fields was highlighted, which included intelligence sharing, technical expertise, legal issues and capacity building.
While concluding the meeting, DG ANF appreciated performance of all LEAs despite capacity gaps and resource constraints. He also appreciated active participation of IATF member agencies in the meeting and expressed hope for frequent interaction at provincial as well as federal level.
