Narco-terrorism is as dangerous as armed terrorism: Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri

Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri, president of Federal Council of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, has said that at a time when the attention of the global community remained focused on countering armed terrorism, it was unfortunate that lop-sided and unifocal approach to this scourge could not achieve the desired results. He said that given the magnitude and depth of the terrorism problem, it is important to address its root causes. Dealing with the symptoms without curing the root cause would only make the disease more cancerous. He said that narcotics and drug industry was the mainstay of the terrorists and narco-terrorism was as deadly as the armed terrorism.

Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri expressed these views in his article published in an English-language daily on the eve of World anti-Narcotics Day. He said that global community needed to find ‘multilayered links’ between drug barons and terrorists if it was serious in dealing a lethal blow to the phenomenon of terrorism. “Without cutting the supply line of money, terrorism would continue to remain a potent challenge,” he said.

Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri deplored the level of cooperation among the countries on the question of anti-narcotics. He said that establishment of lackluster working groups consisting of bureaucrats did not represent a robust response vis-à-vis lethality of the problem. He urged the matter to be taken up for discussion at the highest level and necessary financial, administrative and legislative reforms be undertaken to stem it besides activation of bilateral and multilateral arrangements.