UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called upon international community to do more to counter the menace of narcotics in all its forms, saying it is possible through better coordination and cooperation between the member countries.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly`s special session on `World Drug Problem`, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan decried the emerging trend of legalising drug use and said it would `give a fillip to drug demand thus igniting the supply chain having direct fallout on our region.

Furthermore, he said, the concepts lacking consensus, like harm reduction and the so-called human rightsbased approach, were likely to further complicate the issue.

`We all have been endeavouring to build a drug-free society not a drugtolerant society.

The interior minister pointed out that Pakistan`s geographical location had created multifaceted challengesfor it, `exposing us to be the prime victim and transit country for a major portion of global opiates and cannabis` `We believe that drug dynamics in producing countries, transit countries and target countries are diverse. No two countries and no two regions have similar environment. Therefore there are no one-size-fits-all solutions.

He said, `Pakistan has put in place a robust and comprehensive legal policy and administrative framework to counter the menace of illicit drugs. We take pride in saving the world from over 1.86 billion drug doses over the past three years. Last year, we seized over 342 tons of illicit drugs. Being the top contributors in international seizures beyond our territorial borders we contributed to almost 25 tons of illicit drugs seizures around the world.

Drug demand reduction, treatment and rehabilitation are high on our priority.

Chaudhry Nisar said the existing UN drug control conventions should be treated as a repository of core guiding principles for developing international counter-drug policies.