Ministry of narcotics control: NA panel okays Rs 5.6 billion budgetary proposals

A parliamentary panel has unanimously approved budgetary proposals of Rs 5.602 billion, including Rs 2.19 billion foreign aid, for development projects of Ministry of Narcotics Control under Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for financial year 2018-19. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Narcotics Control met with Malik Shakir Bashir Awan in the chair here at Ministry of Narcotics Control on Wednesday. The committee discussed various development projects to scrutinize budgetary proposals for the budget 2018-19.
Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control, Iqbal Mehmood gave a detailed briefing to the committee on proposed development projects. He placed three ongoing projects at cost of Rs 128.857 million, three extended/revised projects valued at Rs 2.89 million and 15 new projects at cost of Rs 2.579 billion in the meeting for approval. After detailed discussion and certain observations of the members, the committee unanimously approved the budgetary proposals.
The committee showed its reservations over the undue cuts made in the projects, which were approved by the standing committee, by Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms. The committee approved 15 new projects including; (i) construction of Model Addiction Treatment & Rehabilitation Center (MATRC), Islamabad, with total cost of Rs 150 million while Rs 50 million have been proposed for next financial year 2018-19, (ii) acquisition of land for ANF Setup at Jiwani & Gwadar with total cost of Rs 10.712, (iii) construction of ANF Regional Directorate Coastal at Gwadar with total cost of Rs 300 million, (iv) construction of ANF Special Investigation Cell (SIC) building at Islamabad with total cost of Rs 227.889 million, (v) construction of Regional Directorate Complex ANF KPK at Peshawar with total cost of Rs 596.268 million and, (vi) construction of ANF Headquarters Complex near Benazir Bhutto International Airport Rawalpindi, etc.
Director General ANF, Major General Musarrat Nawaz Malik told the committee that customs department has not been giving access to ANF in WeBOC Scanning System and its list on the import at Port Qasim for last three months. He claimed that customs department is creating hurdles to access the WEBOC Scanning System. He said that ANF seized four containers having drugs. He said that ANF needs scanners at Port Qasim for canning containers. The DG ANF briefed the committee that during 2017, ANF approached the Press Information Department for publication of ANF awareness message "say no to drugs" on all public sector advertisements and PEMRA was also approached for furnishing ANF video clips/messages to air the ANF awareness messages through electronic media sources as a national cause.
The Chairman Higher Education Commission apprised the committee that the HEC has advised the higher educational institutions in Pakistan to undertake the task by arranging awareness raising programs in order to create awareness against the drug abuse among students, teaching faculty and parents through lectures, seminars, debates, workshops, sports and cultural events, etc. The committee recommended that proper infrastructure facilities including accommodation buildings, scanners, etc, should be provided to the ANF for efficient working. Moreover, the committee also recommended that the ANF should be given access to WEBOC Scanning System of customs department on the import and export at Port Qasim for having enough grip over the unwanted items bringing bad name to the country.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Sahibzada Faiz-ul-Hassan, Rana Umer Nazir Khan, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Dr Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, Naeema Kishwar Khan and Sher Akbar Khan, federal minister for narcotics control, chairman HEC and senior officers from Ministry of Narcotics Control.