UNDP - United Nations Development Programme Pakistan

03/06/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/06/2024 05:55

Bolstering Counter-Narcotics Efforts in Balochistan: Over 30 Get Training of the Trainers to Further Upskill Personnel of Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Department Balochistan

Balochistan, March 1, 2024 - The U.S. Embassy's Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Department of Balochistan (ETAN-B) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan concluded a Training of Trainers (TOT) session for master trainers under the project, "Strengthening Capacity of Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Balochistan (ETAN-B)." Funded by INL, the project aims to develop the professional skills of ETAN-B staff to bolster counternarcotics efforts, paving the way for safer and drug-free communities in Balochistan.

The master trainers will go on to replicate these trainings to more than 200 ETAN-B staff, along with the national and international experts from UNDP, at both provincial and district levels. Centered around four specialized courses developed under the same project, these trainings will cover the following important areas:

  1. Intelligence-Led Field Operations
  2. Basics of Criminal Investigation and Crime Scene Management
  3. Understanding the Legal Framework of Counternarcotics in Pakistan
  4. Research, Trend Analysis, and Strategy Development.

Abdul Rehman Buzdar, Secretary, ETAN-B, affirmed, "We are committed to developing the professional skills of the ETAN-B staff to ensure that we curb the proliferation of drugs and drug-related crimes in Balochistan. In a bid to achieve this goal, the upskilling of our staff under the U.S.-INL funded and UNDP Pakistan implemented project will quadruple our institutional capacity to keep our communities safer. We are grateful to the U.S.-INL and UNDP Pakistan for joining forces with us in our anti-narcotics efforts in the country."

Underlining the significance of building the professional expertise of ETAN-B staff, Lori Antolinez, Director, U.S.-INL, shared, "The U.S. Government through INL is committed to partner with ETAN-B and UNDP for this collaborative project that will produce a cadre of master trainers who will in turn train more than 200 counternarcotics officers and even more in the future. This project will enhance ETAN-B's law enforcement capacity in a sustainable way that will endure in its support of rising law enforcement and counternarcotics professionals in Pakistan."

Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan, thanked the U.S.-INL and ETAN-B for their partnership in countering narcotics in Balochistan. "At UNDP Pakistan, sustainability is at the heart of all development initiatives we undertake. This project is no different. Creating a pool of master trainers to further roll out specialized training will not only benefit 200 individuals, but will also build the overall institutional capacity of ETAN-B therefore amplifying the impact of the project, and carving out a drug-free and safer future for Balochistan."

The UNDP Rule of Law Programme is implementing a range of interventions to strengthen security and justice sector governance in Pakistan.

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Contact Details: UNDP:
For additional information, please contact Ramsha Nadeem at [email protected] or +92 (51) 835 5679

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