The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to temporarily delay proposed amendments to the narcotics laws due to political pressure.
The amendments were presented before the provincial cabinet for approval.
However, some allegations surfaced that claimed there were links between the chief minister and drug traffickers. Afterwards, the government avoided moving forward with the legislation.
The cabinet expressed concern that such steps could be misrepresented in the current political climate. And that this might damage the government’s credibility.
The Excise and Narcotics Control Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had prepared a draft to amend the Narcotics Act.
The draft was based on the unanimous recommendations of the cabinet committee and its sub-committee.
One of the most significant proposed changes was to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment in certain drug-related cases.
Under the existing law, possession of three kilograms of heroin, cocaine, or ice carries a mandatory death sentence.
The proposed bill suggested reducing this punishment to 24 years in prison, along with a fine of Rs4 million.
According to the sources, the amendment bill also included proposals to further increase punishments and fines for other narcotics-related offences in order to maintain balance in law enforcement.
The Law Department had declared the proposed bill legally and constitutionally sound.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi rejected the allegations of having links with drug traffickers. He called these allegations baseless.
He said that under the current circumstances, it was not appropriate to amend any sensitive law.
He added that the provincial government is strictly following a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics and that no compromise will be made on this policy.
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