Poppies return to Pakistan
01/03/2005 21:17  - (SA)  

Poppy force formed Afghanistan poppy yield soars Opium poppies rear their heads Angry Afghans paid to stop harvest Terror war threatens drug battle 'Opium' fields destroyed Poppy ban 'fuels refugee exodus' Afghanistan clamps down on poppy cultivation

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.

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