Pakistan reaffirms commitment to strengthening cooperation against drug abuse

ISLAMABAD, June 26: Pakistan on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening action and cooperation to achieve a world that is free of drug abuse and trafficking. “Drug abuse not only undermines public health and socioeconomic development, but also challenges national security and prosperity,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on the occasion of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Protecting the youth and the future generations from this menace is inevitable for a safe and prosperous world, said the statement. The illicit drug production and its trafficking is a major problem, the statement said, adding that Pakistan has been at the forefront of the efforts to actively support the ongoing global and regional initiatives that aim to fight drug production and trafficking. In addition to international and regional cooperation, a number of counter-narcotics measures have been taken at the national level including the adoption of a national anti-narcotics policy and the creation of an inter-agency task force on counter-narcotics, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.-DNA