Pakistan "gravely concerned" over emerging trends to legalize use of illicit drugs

Pakistan on Tuesday voiced its grave concern with "the emerging trends in some parts of the world to legalize use of illicit drugs," saying "so-called human rights-based approach are likely further complicate the issue."

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the Pakistani minister of interior and narcotics control, made the remarks when he was speaking at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem, a three-day event which opened here Tuesday morning.

"With due respect to the sovereign rights of states, we are gravely concerned over the emerging trends in some parts of the world to legalize use of illicit drugs," he said. "This would give a fillip to drug demand and thus igniting the supply chain having direct fallouts on our region."

"Furthermore, the concepts lacking consensus, like hard reduction and the so-called human rights-based approach are likely to further complicate this issue," he said. "We have dreamt of a drug-free society rather than a drug-tolerant society."

"Pakistan's geographical location has confronted us with multifaceted challenges exposing us to be the prime victim and transit country for major portion of global opiates and cannabis," he said.

The anti-narcotics approach must be adapted to the specific national condition of a particular country, he said.

"We believe that drug dynamics in producing countries, transit countries and target countries are diverse," he said. "No two countries and no two regions have similar environment. Therefore, there are no 'one size fits all' solutions."

The UN special session, which will conclude on Thursday, is the first of its kind in 18 years. In 1998, world leaders gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to discuss a shared goal: how to create a "drug-free world." Endit