The Senate was informed on Friday that a new anti-narcotics policy is to be formulated to combat the threat posed by drug trafficking.
Replying to a question during the question hour, Minister for Narcotics Salahuddin Tirmizi told the house that Pakistan was an opium-free country duly certified by the United Nations, but the drugs being produced in large quantities in Afghanistan were being smuggled to other parts of the world through Pakistan.
He expressed the confidence that the fencing of the border being carried out by Pakistan Army would also help check the drug trafficking.
Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told the house that the figure of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan stood at 1.4 million.
He said efforts were being made to ensure their dignified and voluntary repatriation to their homeland. He said that six hundred and forty six thousand refugees returned to Afghanistan last year.
