US seeks land for DynCorp

ISLAMABAD Officially seeking land for aircraft maintenance base for its private contractors DynCorp, the US on Wednesday has practically belied Interior Minister Rehman Maliks repeatedly denying presence of any American private security agency in Pakistan.
We have requested the Government of Pakistan to provide land for carrying out maintenance and repair of the Ministry of Interiors 50th Squadron Air Wing in Quetta, said a senior visiting US functionary who met Interior Minister in this regard. The US sponsored Air Wing contains 14 HUEY-II helicopters and three Cessna Caravan aircrafts. The maintenance contract of the Air Wings fleet is with the DynCorp that requires land for a repair base.
We have no proposal under consideration to cancel the contract or change the contractor for maintenance and repair of the Air Wing, Assistant Secretary for Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (BINLEA), David T Johnson answered a questioner after a briefing at the US Embassy here. He was briefing media about the Pak-US cooperation in the field of counter-narcotics. Besides visiting Peshawar, he also held meetings with the relevant Pakistani authorities including Interior Minister.
Earlier, answering another question, he said, he requested during his meeting with Rehman Malik for a land for the DynCorps maintenance workshop where they would be repairing helicopters of the Interior Ministrys Air Wing.
This is worth recalling here that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had told the National Assembly in February this year, Neither Blackwater nor any other security agency with such name is operating in Pakistan. He had also underlined a need for an in-camera briefing over such issue including presence of Blackwater and DynCorp.
Anyhow Johnson told the journalists that the US was up for intensive cooperation for strengthening the security of frontier region of Pakistan and blocking drugs movement across the borders. According to the Assistant Secretary, the Pakistan Government has been formulating a five-year plan for border security and counter-narcotics that the US would examine to extend possible assistance for it. Under the Anti-Narcotics, and Law Enforcement Partnership, the State Department has already been providing assistance to Pakistan in three areas namely borders security programme, law enforcement reforms and capacity building, and counter-narcotics.
Under the umbrella of this partnership, the US assistance covered, inter alia, construction of roads and bridges, provision of access to previously inaccessible territory and expand security forces presence in the FATA and tribal areas.
He announced that US would provide U$.150 million to increase the interdiction activities and disruption of supply of narcotics, originating in Pakistan.
According to the Assistant Secretary, about 93 percent of global poppy production came from Afghanistan while Columbia, Mexico, Burma, and some other countries contributed rest of the seven percent of world supplies. However, he claimed a notable decrease of smuggling activities during last few years.
He said that drugs were a source of lucrative income for militants and terrorists, who also have a deep interaction with drug lords of Afghanistan. As compared to Afghanistan, Pakistan has nominal production of poppy in some remote areas of FATA region. He was confident that Pakistan authorities would gradually destroy that as well.
Hoping that Pakistan would take steps for end to corruption in its domain, he 'denied having any knowledge about smuggling or delivery of anti-hydrant chemicals to Afghanistan, helpful in manufacturing of heroin drug, since this drug was also manufactured in Germany and America.