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The US government looks forward to maintaining its strong cooperation with Pakistan to combat the concerns of illegal drug, narcotics, and weapons trade in order to protect the region and global societies.

"We have found Pakistan to be a wonderful partner across the board, and we have to rely even more on Pakistan now According to Todd D. Robinson, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Illicit Drugs and Law Enforcement Affairs, "we are no longer in Afghanistan to combat criminal commerce in drugs, narcotics, and weapons."

Robinson stated that Pakistan has shown to be an able (rather than enabling) partner as they were familiar with the challenges and regions.

We can provide them with the instruction and tools they need to perform a very dangerous job, he said. In many ways, they are defending the local and global communities, thus I admire my Pakistani colleagues.

He was in Pakistan to mark the 40th anniversary of the State Department"s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs" presence and collaboration with Pakistan, as well as the 75th anniversary of Pakistan-US bilateral relations.

Each year, the US State Department spends more than $21 million on programmes in Pakistan ranging from counter-narcotics to community policing through Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

Robinson stated that the US and Pakistan have a reciprocal interest in securing Pakistan"s shipping ports and the Indian Ocean from illegal trafficking.

"We recognise that the majority of heroin trafficked from Afghanistan transits through Pakistan"s seaports and along the Makran coastline in Balochistan to worldwide markets," Robinson said. "We look forward to further partnerships in improving maritime security in the Indian Ocean."

As part of the Joint Task Force-150 mission, the Pakistan Navy is assisting in the fight against narcotics. During patrols in the Gulf of Oman in April, a Pakistani naval warship seized illegal narcotics. "These efforts are tremendously appreciated," he added.

He stated that US programmes support civilians law enforcement, rule of law, corrections, and counter-narcotics in order to assist Pakistan in combating violent extremism, expanding access to justice, and enforcing the rule of law throughout the country.

In support of the changes in Federally Administered Tribal Places, the United States refocused programmes on developing law enforcement and justice sector institutions in regions where criminal and extremist organizations thrive, including assisting in the retention and recruitment of women in law enforcement.

He continued, "Where Pakistan is migrating to civilian governance and implementing mainstream Pakistani norms of law and policing, our aid is especially vital in the districts bordering the Afghan border."

He stated that INL supplies training and equipment to Pakistan"s counter-narcotics units in order to scale up interdiction activities along the border with Afghanistan and along major smuggling routes used by multinational terrorist and criminal networks.

"I want to congratulate Pakistani law enforcement forces on recovering 38 metric tons ( mt of opium-based drugs in 2021, as reported by the Anti-Narcotics Force," he said of INL programmes to eliminate drugs and eliminate the supply.

The close cooperation between the US State dept, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and "our Pakistani counterparts, such as the Anti-Narcotics Force"s Special Investigation Cell, has resulted in Pakistan denying record amounts of revenue to drug-trafficking associations since September 2021," he added.

To far, the US has contributed $24 million in drug prevention and treatment activities in Pakistan, which Robinson attributes to "tight cooperation with the MNC, province partners, UNODC, and the Colombo Plan."

He emphasised that in places where the US collaborates with Pakistani authorities on crop control efforts, poppy cultivation has been decreased by 87 percent.

"We do this by giving awareness about elevated, legal crops and afterwards assisting them in marketing their legal products." More than 365,000 families have benefited from these programmes," he noted.

Concerning US support for the rule of law in Pakistan, he stated that the State Department"s rule of law programme funds training programmes, primarily for judges and prosecutors, provides some exceptional quality, and conducts training to strengthen the criminal justice sector"s capacity.

He stated that the INL intends to continue providing training, along with exchange and virtual programmes, in order to foster a more competent justice sector. The INL, he added, is also sponsoring the construction and curriculum creation of Khyber-first-ever Pakhtunkhwa"s Prosecution Academy, which he helped to inaugurate with Pakistani collaborators and government leaders during this visit.

He emphasised women"s engagement in the judicial system, congratulating Pakistan on the appointment of its first female Supreme Court judge this year. "We hope to see more women advance in the criminal justice system and other public service sectors here," he added.

He stated that supporting gender justice and equality has long been a pillar of US foreign policy. The INL gender programmes are focused on amplifying female voices and expanding access to opportunities.

"One of my greatest accomplishments is that INL has trained over 4,200 policewomen in collaboration with Pakistan"s police agencies," he stated, stressing that this improves community-police ties and protects female officers from violence. The INL correctional programme intends to assist Pakistan in developing a more secure, safe, and humane prison system.

"We"ve been focusing on this since 2010, and we now have initiatives in Balochistan, Sindh, K-P, and Punjab," he explained.

ICMTC training has been completed by 325 Pakistani correctional officers from four provincial prisons departments since January 2012.
He mentioned the accomplishment of a $5 million infrastructure plan at the Frontier Corps K-P North training centre in Warsak, as well as the start of a new $4.6 million building project that will provide women"s facilities at eight Frontier Corps K-P South headquarters.

In 2018, the INL launched an initiative to address these issues, providing more than $10 million to build dormitories and other facilities for women at 14 law enforcement training sites around Pakistan.

The INL successfully transferred one of these facilities to Pakistan"s National Highways and Motorway Police earlier this year (NHMP). The new barracks, which has a dining hall, lactation area, and daycare facilities, can house 100 female recruits. The facility will assist the NHMP in achieving its objective of hiring 1,200 new female officers, or 10% of all new recruits, during the next five years.