Ijaz Shah, Country Manager of BNCA discuss strategic approach to combat menace of drugs

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Narcotics Control, Brig (R) Ijaz Ahmad Shah here on Tuesday met with Country Manager, Osman Ahmad and Liaison Officer Chris Hall from British National Crime Agency (BNCA) and discussed strategic approach to combat the menace of drugs.

Brig (R) Ijaz Ahmad Shah while elaborating over the problems associated with widespread of narcotics said “it doesn’t only have negative impact on individuals and their mental health but also plays a role in increased crime rate.” Reinforcing over the importance of eradication of drugs he said “reduction in drug usage will also help in reducing organized crimes and help in formation of a peaceful society”. The minister emphasized that eliminating drugs from the society can save generations from being destroyed. The representatives of BNCA agreed with the minister’s point of view and said that close coordination was needed in order to completely eliminate this menace from the world.

The minister said, “No country in the world can get rid of this problem in isolation, its a global issue and needs to be solved by combined efforts”. The country manager of BNCA said that Anti Narcotics Force and Special Investigation Cell of Crime agency had been working in close coordination and had successfully worked in multiple projects to combat the problem.

Ijaz Shah appreciated the two decades long association and working of British National Crime Agency with Pakistan.

Both sides mutually agreed upon the point that Information sharing and assistance played a significant role in formulating overall strategy to achieve the goal of drug free society. The minister said that the exchange of information and coordination was very important to control the illegal trafficking of drugs. He said that formulating a strategy to reduce demand of drugs across the globe would play a key role in overcoming the problem of narcotics supply.

The British Agency representatives promised all possible cooperation in that regard.  The meeting ended with a promise that all relevant organizations would work on improving the coordination and work in close proximity to collectively fight the menace of drugs and completely eliminate it from the society.