1. Escalation of Diplomatic Offensive Assumes Destabilizing Proportions: Offensive military formations were withdrawn from the border by both India and Pakistan, however, diplomatic sparing continued throughout the month. More than 20 diplomats have been expelled by both countries. Both High Commissions are now operating on a reduced strength of under 50 each and are headed by junior diplomats. India continues to accuse Pakistan of infiltration by 'militants' into 'Kashmir' including the channeling of funds to the All Parties Hurriat Conference (APHC). On January 9, India test-fired a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Pakistan's second Agosta 90B submarine, currently under going tests, is expected to be inducted into the navy by mid-year. Both the US and China have exhorted the two countries to settle their differences through dialogue.

2. Installation of Provincial Governments. By-elections to 10 National Assembly seats and 19 of the four provincial assemblies took place on 15 January 2003. These seats were vacated by members elected to more than one seat during the elections in October 2002. The MMA (religious parties alliance) secured several additional seats vacated by parliamentarians from other political parties. The stage is now set for the senate elections to be held in February. The Government is hoping to get trusted men of Mr Pervez Musharraf's outgoing cabinet re-elected. The new provincial governments have already been sworn in. The MMA has complete control of the NWFP government while the ruling PML(Q) is firmly placed in the Punjab. Sindh and Balochistan provinces have weaker coalition governments based on 'give and take'. In order to have a PML(Q) Chief Minister in Sindh, the Federal Government agreed to an MQM Governor.

3. Pakistan's Foreign Minister on official visit to the US. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mr. Mahmud Kasuri, has been on an extended visit to the United States where the inclusion of Pakistani nationals in the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) has been on the top of his agenda. It is estimated that approx. 50,000 Pakistani living in the U.S. will have to register with immigration officials by the end of March 2003. Pakistans's Foreign Minister also participated at the Iraq meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on 31 January and called for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis.

4. Hot-pursuit of Al Qaeda and Taliban. Firing on a US patrol by a Pakistani border guard at the end of last year highlighted the debate between the US and Pakistan on the concept of hot-pursuit of terrorists by American forces into Pakistan. President Musharraf and US Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the incident in which a US soldier was injured on the Afghan-Pakistan border.

5. Pakistan actively supports the UN Convention Against Corruption. The ad-hoc Committee entrusted by the General Assembly to finalize the UN Convention against Corruption held its fourth session in Vienna from January 13 to 24, 2003. During the pre-session negotiations, Pakistan's ambassador to Vienna, Mr. Ali Sarwar Naqvi, appraised the ad-hoc Committee of the wide-ranging reforms adopted by the present government to combat corruption at the national level. The Pakistan government believes the Convention will facilitate the return and recovery of assets derived from the proceeds of corruption. The Pakistan government launched a National Anti-Corruption Strategy on 11 February. The strategic framework encompasses awareness, prevention, monitoring and enforcement resulting in an action plan to tackle corruption.

B. IMPORTANT DRUG CONTROL AND CRIME-RELATED MATTERS 1.

CRIME 1. Australian arrested in Karachi accused of links to al-Qaeda . Pakistani authorities have detained a 29-year-old Australian suspected of training with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. He is the fourth Australian to be detained on suspicion of having al-Qaeda links.

2. Second suspect in Sheraton suicide bombing held in Karachi : On January 15, CID police Karachi arrested another suspect accused of plotting a suicide car bomb attack that killed 14 people including 11 French experts on 8 May 2002. The police had earlier arrested a suspect, who is alleged to be belonging to Harkat Jihad-ul Islami. Three more suspects involved in this attack remain at large.

3. Resurgence of Poppy Cultivation: UNODC was represented on the inter agency poppy crop monitoring team's visit to Dir District from 31 January to 2 February 2003. Whilst poppy cultivation has been much lower in Dir District in the 2002 planting season as compared to the previous year, cultivation of poppy increased significantly in Khyber Agency. A detailed report on the mission has been submitted to UNODC HQs separately.

C. PROGRAMME/ PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND DEVELOPMENT

1. PAK/94/840: Dir District Development Project (1994-2002). Project budget: US $ 14,291,600. (Project operationally closed in September 2002). An assessment of the assets and liabilities of the project has been carried out and a proposal for further follow-up activities, informally discussed with colleagues at UNODC Vienna and government counterparts has been submitted for UNODC Headquarter for review and comments. The proposal is based on the recycling of the proceeds of non-expendable equipment to fund a new project.

2. PAK/99/D86: Drug Law Enforcement Programme for Pakistan (1999-2002). Programme budget: US$ 5,252,364; allocation advice for 2003: US$ 466,000. The installation of communications equipment is in progress. The contractor Denimax has started laying down the foundations of the masts in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Lahore and Multan. International technicians from Denimax also arrived to install the VHF and HF Radios. Three Drug Law Enforcement Training courses were delivered in January. A total of 47 Law Enforcement Officers from ANF, Pakistan Rangers and Pakistan Coast Guards participated in the courses.

3. RAS/98/D18: Support to Drug Law Enforcement Programmes in SW, South and Central Asia, from within Regional Office SW Asia. (1998-2003). Project budget: US$ 215,000; allocation advice 2003: US$ 25,800. The Law Enforcement Adviser employed under the project was reassigned to Kabul. Whilst in Islamabad, he followed-up on issues related to the implementation of the Drug Law Enforcement Programme for Pakistan (PAK/D86).

4. AD/PAK/01/F50: Establishment of a Network of Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres. Project budget: US$ 547,000; allocation advice 2003: US$ 241,000. The second phase of training of 28 drug treatment personnel has been completed at the participating centers. An electronic treatment data base has been installed at five treatment centers.

5. AD/PAK/01/F51: District Level Drug Abuse Prevention. Project budget: US$ 277,000; allocation advice 2003: US$ 70,900. Five districts have been identified for inclusion in the project (2 NWFP, 1 Punjab, 1 Sindh, 1 Baluchistan). Meetings were held with the concerned district governments with regard to their support for the project.

6. AD/PAK/01/F91: HIV/AIDS Prevention among Intravenous Drug Users in Karachi - a Pilot Project. Project budget: US$ 200,000; allocation advice 2003 US$ 76,700. The following services were provided by the two drop-in centers in Karachi during the month of December 2002: 91 new IDUs were registered, 4676 syringes distributed and social services provided. Eight clients were referred for detoxification, 5 for specialized medical services and 6 for surgical services. A total of 407 clients received counselling and 254 condoms were distributed.

7. Drug Awareness Programme-Vocational Training in Training Skills Among Afghan Refugee Women in Aza Jhel Camp at Peshawar, DAPC Grant. US $ 9,500 House to house drug prevention campaign, targeting women, is on-going .

8. Drug Abuse Information System Epidemiology Working Group-Pakistan, GLOBAL ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (GAP) Contracts were prepared and awarded to the national focal points of the project. Data collection is due to commence in February 2003. Programme Development. Meetings were held with the DG Financial Investigation Wing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with regard to the placement of an adviser on Money Laundering within NAB. A final decision is expected in the second half of February 2003.

D. IMPORTANT MEETINGS/ PLANNED UPCOMING EVENTS

The Officer-in-Charge of the Country Office met with Ms. Nafis Sadiq, Special Envoy to the Secretary General on HIV/AIDS, and briefed her on UNODC's work in the field of AIDS prevention among intravenous drug users. In February 2003, the office will participate in a seminar on human trafficking organized by the Ministry of Interior and IOM in Islamabad.