Senate body apprised of insufficient staff to check menace at Port Qasim

With a total of only 10 sniffer dogs available in the country, just two allocated to Karachi with three anti-narcotic personnel, stationed at Port Qasim, it is almost impossible to check the flourishing narcotics trade from this point.
This pathetic state of affairs was highlighted by the Anti-Narcotics Department's representatives before the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control, headed by Chairperson Senator Kulsoom Perveen, during the committee's visit to Port Qasim on Wednesday morning.
The Committee was informed that the Anti-Narcotics Department was ill equipped and they had only three personnel at the port, which was insufficient to deal with the narcotics trade.
Persons involved in this trade find it feasible because of high value of "white powder" in the international market. Even if two containers out of 10 find their way to markets abroad, their losses are recovered and they are happy.
The Senate Standing Committee members visited Port Qasim to evaluate the state of security arrangements in the port area. Security Manager Commander Haider Ali gave a detailed briefing on the existing security arrangements, and informed them about the preparedness of security personnel to counter all sorts of threats.
The procedure of giving entry passes to drivers and other personnel and the modus operandi of allotment of permanent passes was explained on a query from the chairperson on the issue.
The committee members also desired to know about the security system adopted for handling containers at the port.
Port Qasim Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Saleem Ahmed Meenai informed the committee members of the foolproof security arrangements made at the port in collaboration with the customs authorities. The PQA was responsible only for the safety and security in port area whereas other aspects, ie narcotics trade, etc was out of their ambit, he added.
The committee was informed that during the last six months, anti-narcotics personnel detected 84 cases. The conviction rate had been 87 percent. In 14 cases, death penalty was awarded but most of those convicted have gone into appeal.