'Over 40 percent of opiates being smuggled from Afghanistan'

More than 40 percent of opiates is being smuggled from Afghanistan to Pakistan and then being illegally transported to European and Asia markets. A good quantity of the illegal drug was also being smuggled to Africa and North America .Some of these drugs is also being consumed in Pakistan.
Director General (DG) Anti-Narcotics Forces (ANF) Major General Khawar Hanif said this while addressing a news conference at ANF headquarters on Tuesday. "Afghanistan produces an estimated 60 to 70 percent of the world's supply of illicit opiates and 40 percent of the total production of Afghanistan opiates cross into Pakistan", he said. He said that ANF had declared use of illegal drug in the country as national security issue as it was affecting our youth and causing serious diseases among them. According to an estimate, 0.2 million people die annually world-wide because of use of illicit opiates. "The number is far high then those who lost their lives during terrorist's activities, Hanif said.
ANF DG said three to seven percent people of total world's population have used illegal drug in 2013. As many as 315 million people estimated to have used an illicit substance of in 2011, of which 3.6 and 6.9 percent were adult population, he said. Quoting United Nations Organisation for Drug Control (UNODC) report, he said that an estimated 180.62 million people have used cannabis and 16.490 million people used opium while 311 tons of opium and heroin was manufactured in 2012. Hanif said that ANF last year had seized drug worth Rs 9.4 billion (9 million dollars) while this year drug worth Rs 3.5 billion (3 million dollars) has been seized. As many as 134 tons of drugs will be burnt to mark International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit trafficking on 26 June, he said.
He said that despite challenges of manpower constraint, anti-terrorist operations and law and order situation, Pakistan had made very impressive contributions in fight against the menace of drugs and had continuously emerged as one of the world's leading country in seizures. "Pakistan has been acknowledged as Poppy Free State for the year 2011 and has retained the same status for 2012, 2013 and 2014 as well," Hanif said. He said that 33 drug peddlers were awarded life imprisonment and one death punishment while 114 different kind of punishment in 2014.