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Saying no to drugs

In 1997 a source report went the rounds of various intelligence agencies before coming to the desk at Karachi of the Regional Director, Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Sindh. An informer claimed that a very large shipment of heroin was to be smuggled out of Pakistan through Karachi. The informer’s report was not being taken seriously by the other agencies but Brig Mukhtar Ahmad, newly appointed as Head of ANF in Sindh, and his deputy Lt Col Javed Aslam, thought it prudent to get in touch with the informer. After verification they raided a flat in an Apartment Building near Clifton. From a flat occupied by a young married couple the ANF recovered 580 kgs of heroin, stacked behind a revolving closet. This was easily one of the largest seizures ever, having a street value (in the US and Europe) of between US$ 240-250 million. The resulting interrogation/investigation led to a number of senior drug figures being hauled up, among them many relatives and associates of Farooq Memon, confidante of many senior politicians and bureaucrats. Farooq Memon himself escaped; many others are on the run. Because of this big bust, an entire network was decimated and drug smuggling out of Pakistan put back many years.

We live in an environment of severe self-criticism as a nation, labelling ourselves a “failure” in many national issues. No doubt self-criticism is necessary but sometimes it goes out of hand and does not take into account the fact that many other nations have the same problems in varying degrees, many times more acute than our problems, but they do not indulge in chest-beating in public about it. We love self-flagellation at the slightest pretext, forgetting to even count, what to talk, of our successes. Our war against drugs is an amazing real-life success story and the men of the Pakistan Army who made it happen deserve public plaudits, not only are they unsung heroes continuing to serve selflessly, but they have done the Army, of which they wear the uniform, truly proud. The officers and men deputed by the Pakistan Army to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) have done a magnificent job.

The ANF started as the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in 1993 as a replacement of the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board (PNCB). The PNCB was mostly officered by men from the Police, FIA and Customs, they were singularly unsuccessful, being infiltrated at will by the drug barons, who from time to time sent a bone of appeasement in the form of small seizures their way to keep everyone comfortable and satisfied. A stage came where Pakistan was rapidly becoming the No. 1 drug producing and supplier country, with drug money corrupting leadership at every level in all the sectors. Faced with a situation where not only the US but other western countries would abandon Pakistan as drug infested without hope of redemption, the then government opted to turn to the only remaining credible institution left in the country, the Pakistan Army. Maj Gen (now Lt Gen) Salahuddin Tirmizi, then Director General Armoured Corps GHQ, was selected as the man who would be able to turn the tide. Having inherited the muck in PNCB, with only a smattering of manpower from the Army to start with, he faced enormous problems. However with active help from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Tirmizi did total house cleaning. The PNCB was like a sieve, leaking information, virtually a unit of the drug barons who operated with impunity. By 1994, ANTF (now ANF) had been cleansed and transformed into the ANF. The nation owes a debt of gratitude to people like Tirmizi and his successors Maj Gen Mushtaq who followed him in 1996 and the present incumbent Maj Gen Zaffer Abbas, who took over in 1998 and in a short span of time energised the ANF making it a more kinetic and positive force. The stakes are high; the temptations are always enormous in the drug business.

What have these men of the Army achieved? In 1997, Pakistan was producing 800 MT of heroin, in 1998 it had come down to 5 MT. Since 600 MT is required legally for the pharmaceutical industry, from a net manufacturer and exporter, Pakistan has become a net importer; instead of being a supply source, it has become a target of drug barons. The statistics of addiction are bad; from 3 million heroin addicts in 1993/94 we had reached 4 million in 1998, a growth rate of more than 7% per annum. As such while we have been successful in interdicting the supply and eradicating manufacture to a near zero, we have yet to control its use. The social problems include related law and order, unequal wealth through easy money and a breakdown of traditional values. The effort has now to be for “demand reduction” and the ANF is showing its potential in a new sophisticated approach e.g. by organising art competition among students condemning drug use. Demand reduction projects include Painting Exhibitions “The Crusade against Narcotics”, debates and declamations at school and college level, moving addicts to Rehabilitation Centres and publicity through the electronic and print media. A recent competition was organised in Karachi by the Regional Director ANF Sindh. This was graced by Mr. Pino Arlacchi, Head of the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP). Mr Arlacchi, who has the status of Under-Secretary in the UN, was eloquent about Pakistan’s transformation from an almost impossible situation, he very vocally confirmed the ANF success story. Just look at the list of drug bigwigs arrested, in 1997 Muhammad Arif Baloch, Hussain Mahmood Haravi, Haji Saleem Memon, Ahmad Chatriwala, Haji Marjan and ex-DSP Mujtaba Ahmad Khan. In 1998 Dawood Khan Pathan, Raees Ahmad, Saadullah Afridi, Sher Khan Samejo, Asstt Director (Retd) FIA Abdul Qayyum, SPO Customs Aslam Saroya, Customs Appraiser Soomro and Customs Examiner Abdul Jabbar Khan, Mahboobur Rahman, etc. In 1999 Karana (Kenyan national), Jamal Khan Afridi, Sander John Bernard (British), Syed Asif Ali, Saheb alias Soorva, etc. And the seizures, 734 kgs heroin, 10280 kgs charas, 447 kgs opium, etc in 1997. In 1998 175 kgs heroin, 17390 kgs charas and 20 kgs opium etc. Till date in 1999 137 kgs heroin, 839 kgs charas and 10 kgs opium — statistics speak for themselves (figures are updated till 15 May 99). More important is the formation of the Assets Investigation Branch by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) which hunts out assets of drug barons acquired through drug money. With the establishment of the CNS Act, ANF Karachi has seized property worth Rs.2002.84 Million, which has been frozen.

Obviously ANF has turned things around but there is no room for complacency. Karachi is in fact at the cutting edge of the fight against drugs because it is through this port city that maximum drugs used to be smuggled out. Brig Mukhtar Ahmed and his men live a dangerous existence but with aplomb and dedication they have achieved the impossible. While Karachi is not drug free, it has certainly stopped being the principal conduit in this part of Asia. We are quick to criticise, let us take some time out to salute success of the brave men of the ANF who have successfully taken on the white powder trade, its tremendous power and influence, and has virtually destroyed it in Pakistan.

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