HC Deb 26 October 1984 vol 65 cc731-2W
Mr. Wareing

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 22 October, which crops are to be substituted for poppy growing in the north-west frontier province of Pakistan; whom he has consulted to determine how the £1 million provided by the Overseas Development Administration shall be disbursed; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Raison

A pre-project study is being carried out by British consultants in respect of the Dir Valley in northwest frontier province of Pakistan. This was the area indicated by the Pakistan Government to the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control (UNFDAC) as having highest priority. The consultants will make recommendations, not only on what crops are to be substituted for poppy growing, but also on the infrastructure needed to support the project. We hope that these recommendations will be ready by the end of 1984 and that work on the project will begin in the spring of 1985.

Consultations to determine how the £1 million should be disbursed have taken place with the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control, which has itself had discussions with the Government of Pakistan, and with other donors.