Poppies return to Pakistan

2005-03-01 21:17

Islamabad - Opium poppy production has resurfaced in Pakistan because security forces have been busy tackling militants linked to the al-Qaeda network along the Afghan border, a key official said on Tuesday.

Major US ally Pakistan was declared a poppy-free country in 2000, but farmers began cultivating the heroin-producing flowers again in 2002, said Major General Nadeem Ahmed, chief of the army-led anti-narcotics force.

Pakistan needed more international help if it was to win both the war on terror and the war on drugs, Ahmed told reporters at the launch of a report by the UN's international narcotics control board.

"After a break of two years there has been some resurgence of poppy crop in Pakistan," he said.

Poppies had sprung up over about 6 700ha in Pakistan in that time, and while 78% had been eradicated another 22% remained intact, the general said.

Ongoing counter-terrorist operations in North West Frontier Province, as well as moves to tackle a tribal revolt in southwestern Baluchistan province, had diverted key forces, he added.

"These two issues have hampered our efforts going for full eradication," the anti-drugs chief said.

Pakistan used to be one of the world's largest heroin producers - churning out around 800 tons a year in the late 1970s - until it brought in tough measures to cut its output almost to zero.

However, in the wake of the September 11 attacks it was faced with a new problem - hunting down scores of al-Qaeda-linked militants believed to have sneaked out of Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.

- AFP