Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have agreed to step up cross border controls to stop the flow of illegal drugs, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced on Thursday.
The three countries, meeting in agreed to establish Border Liaison Offices on each of their three borders, to plan joint operations against traffickers, attempting to smuggle heroin out of Afghanistan, Vienna-based UNDODC said in a press release, which was also distributed at the UN headquarters in New York.
The countries also announced that they would step up the campaign to block the transport of precursor chemicals for heroin production in and around Afghanistan. Another key focus was on how to prevent trade links and road transport from being used for the smuggling of narcotics.
"We need to ensure that ways to facilitate trade are not exploited by smugglers of guns, chemicals and weapons," Executive Director of UNODC Antonio Maria Costa said in Vienna.
The meeting in Tehran was part of the triangular initiative brokered by UNODC, the press release said. Speakers at the meeting stressed the devastating impact of opium and heroin on their countries, and urged the international community, particularly European countries, to reduce demand for drugs and support the new plan.
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