INDIA, PAK BID TO COMBAT DRUG SMUGGLING

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan begin two days of talks in Islamabad tomorrow
on controlling drug trafficking in the region and checking financing of
terrorism through proceeds of drug trade.

A six-member Indian delegation which will visit Pakistan to attend the
two-day meeting of the India-Pakistan committee on drug trafficking and
smuggling, will also hold discussions on the use of drugs and their link
with HIV/AIDS, elimination of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and illegal
drug trade between the two countries, sources said. The two countries had
decided on April 16 to hold talks on the issue under a roadmap worked out
between their respective foreign secretaries in Islamabad on February 18.

The Indian delegation at the talks will be led by Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB) Director General MK Singh while the Pakistani side will be headed by
its Narcotics Control division secretary Maj Khalid Latif.

The Indian delegation also includes officials from the Border Security
Force (BSF) and the ministries of home and external affairs. The sources,
while expressing optimism over the outcome of the talks, said both
countries could work together to eliminate drug trafficking and delink it
from terrorism.

The discussions on combating illegal drug trade will be followed by talks
on nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) in New Delhi on June 19 and
20. India has already pointed out to Pakistan that terrorism and drug
trafficking posed a direct challenge to democratic societies and political
systems everywhere.

It has been conveyed to Islamabad that terrorism had assumed serious
proportions through its nexus with narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
Both sides had agreed to set up a mechanism for regular meetings and
exchange of operational information combating various types of crimes
including drug trafficking.