Improved Counternarcotics Training Capacity for Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

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The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to: build the criminal interdiction capacity of the Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (ETNC-KP) through the development of a training curriculum and implementation of training courses . Disrupting and deterring drug trafficking remains a significant challenge for Pakistan’s criminal justice sector. The ETNC-KP is the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial authority for countering narcotics.  ETNC-KP counternarcotics (CN) mandate is derived from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 2019 , which established the Narcotics Control Wing of ETNC-KP. The Act provides for the control of narcotic substances, narcotic drugs, and psychotropic substances in order to eliminate the evils of these substances, more effectively and more forcefully for socioeconomic wellbeing of the people of the Province of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This call for ETNC-KP counternarcotics training proposals is intended to address a number of challenges facing the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including: a lack of trust between the public and police; a lack of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors; an insufficient investigative capacity to support the successful prosecution of complex cases and dismantle criminal enterprises; and an underdeveloped skills base for handling narcotics related cases. Pakistan faces a tremendous challenge in dealing with the large flow of narcotics originating from Afghanistan to feed its heroin market and to supply demand in many other regions of the world.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that traffickers move 45 percent of Afghanistan’s heroin through Pakistan to international markets.  This narcotics trade provides financing to anti-government elements and fuels narcotics addiction in Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains a sensitive region in terms of the narcotic trades and cultivation. Strengthening the interdiction capacity of ETNC-KP can play a significant role in controlling the narcotics trade from Afghanistan, within the province, and onward to other provinces and the international market. Enhancing ETNC-KP’s capability to interdict illegal narcotics enhances public safety and can help minimize the negative consequences of drug addiction impacting families and communities. A well-trained force supports building public trust and confidence and improving the ETNC-KP relationship with communities it serves.

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