THE possible smuggling of the controlled drug ephedrine across Pakistan’s borders has been in the headlines in recent months because of the high-profile people suspected of having been involved. We must beware of being lulled into a sense of false security that this case is an aberration. Far from it. How far controlled pharmaceutical ingredients are being trafficked, as is suspected of ephedrine, remains to be ascertained. What is certain, however, is that Pakistan is a primary transit country for opiates/heroin produced in Afghanistan, a country which was responsible last year for over 90 per cent of the global opium produce. At the international conference ‘Control drugs, control crimes’ held in Karachi earlier this month by Pakistan Customs, it emerged that anti-drug smuggling agencies manage to seize just a fraction of the Afghan heroin that is routed through the country. What is recovered is usually from air and sea passengers, in kilogramme quantities. By contrast, last year alone upwards of 200 tonnes of the contraband reached international markets after having passed through Pakistan.

Pakistan’s reputation for law enforcement is poor enough without adding to it helplessness against drug trafficking. But it is not just a matter of image. Heroin has for decades been a scourge in this country, with an estimated 500,000 people addicted to the drug and perhaps many more in danger of turning to it. The manner in which this has raised the rates of HIV and other blood-borne diseases, rent apart the social fabric and levied a toll on the economy is well-documented. The state apparatus needs to take urgent steps to counter the menace. Preventing the flow of drugs out of the country would in all likelihood increase the availability of contraband in the domestic market. What we need are strong measures to prevent opiates and/or heroin from entering the country in the first place. As with militancy, drugs are flowing uncontrolled through Pakistan because the Durand Line is porous. Greater checks are strongly required.