A file photo of poppy-opium. STOCK IMAGE
Official reports reveal special monitoring teams completed a survey and confirmed poppy was still being cultivated in scattered areas of both the tribal agencies. Findings of such reports have been forwarded to the federal government, FATA Secretariat and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor.
According to the reports, poppy is cultivated on over 400 kanals in Bajaur Agency and over 153 kanals in Shalobar area of Bara, Khyber Agency.
An official privy to the reports said a survey on cultivation of poppy in Mohmand Agency is currently under way, adding the political administration is trying its best to destroy poppy crops before harvest.
The government has been providing financial assistance with the help of foreign donors to end poppy cultivation in various parts of the country, particularly Fata, for the past four decades. However, lawlessness and militancy have rendered most efforts ineffective.
Meanwhile in Haripur, five farmers were arrested for cultivating poppy in Nara Amazai area, police said on Tuesday. Dozens of others are likely to face action with the crop’s cultivation reported from different parts of Nara Amazai and Baitgali union councils of Ghazi tehsil.
Ghazi DSP Ishtiaq Khan said police teams visited different villages of Nara Amazai union council and found poppy plants over twelve kanals of agriculture land. He added the poppy plants were at their early stage and fruition had not yet started, claiming police contingents destroyed the crop and arrested the land owners under Section 5 of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act. They were identified as Khanzeb, son of Abdul Khanan; Naveed, son of Habibur Rehman; Zahir Shah, son of Hazrat Shah; Jamshed Khan, son of Ghulam Rasool, and Waheed Nawab, son of Zar Muhammad.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2015.
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