Shehryar Afridi’s false claims about UNODC report

 

Shehryar Afridi, the minister of state for narcotics control, has repeatedly claimed in his press talks, and in his speeches in the parliament, that the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), the state-run drug control agency in Pakistan, has achieved a prosecution rate of 97-98 per cent on drug-related crimes. Therefore an overwhelming majority of those arrested for possessing, manufacturing and distributing drugs are convicted.

This, he says, is the highest conviction rate in the world. The minister then attributes the statistic to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“The ANF has a conviction rate of 97 per cent,” he again told the media on October 6, “It is the number one in the world. And Prime Minister Imran Khan or Shehryar Afridi is not saying this, the UNODC is saying it.”

But the UNODC has not released any such data.

The last report, where it mentions the ANF’s conviction rate, was published in 2008. Titled, ‘The Illicit Drug Trade in Pakistan’, the report notes that the force itself “collects and publishes annual statistics on drug-related crimes”. It further praises the country for making positive changes to the Pakistan penal code for the prosecution of drug-related cases.

As for the conviction rate, it adds that it “has improved over the last few years and stood at 8 per cent in 2006.”

Recent reports released by the UN body, such as its annual reports and Pakistan-specific reviews, do not provide an updated figure. The UNODC does not collect such information, said an officer, who asked not to be named.

The UN organisation works jointly with the government of Pakistan in the areas of illicit trafficking, border management, the criminal justice system, legal reforms and drugs demand, reduction, prevention and treatment.

The ANF’s internal data, available on its website, however, does boast of a 96 per cent criminal conviction rate in the country.