Pakistan, US discuss immigration

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan and the US agreed on Saturday to intensify cooperation on security and immigration.

That was decided during a meeting in between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker.

Naqvi and Baker discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in counter-narcotics, security, and the prevention of illegal immigration.

The meeting also focused on strengthening collaboration in intelligence sharing, curbing drug trafficking, and expanding joint measures to stop illegal migration. The US envoy offered full technical assistance to Pakistan in combating narcotics and preventing unauthorised cross-border movement. He said the identification of drug trafficking cases at airports remains a top priority, adding that state-of-the-art scanning machines were being installed at all major airports across the country.

Naqvi reaffirmed that Pakistan is strictly implementing a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics. Even today, drugs originating from Afghanistan are reaching dozens of countries and destroying young generations, he noted, welcoming US technical support to bolster Pakistan's counter-narcotics capabilities.

On the prime minister's directive, the National Narcotics Coordination Centre would be established soon, the interior minister informed the envoy.