Pak air force pilots accused of transporting heroin

Pakistani drug smugglers have found that flying out heroin through the national airline may be dangerous. Now they opt for carrier pigeons or air force pilots instead for carrying the deadly consignment -- heroin.

A report in the English-language daily The News from Mianwali in Punjab says that drug-peddlers tie small bundles to the feet of pigeons.

Even more damaging are charges in the press that the Pakistan air force has been flying heroin to other parts of the world. Army chief General Jahangir Karamat reacted strongly to these stories and said the armed forces were facing a media trial in Pakistan.

But the armed forces suffered a shock last month when the New York police arrested Squadron Leader Farooq Khan in New York while he was trying to sell two kg of heroin. The Americans tried to play down the incident allegedly because of strong security ties with Pakistan's military services. But the damage was done.

News of Khan's arrest came at about the same time as the arrest of another squadron leader, Qasim Bhatti, who had successfully transported heroin to the United States on PAF planes on at least two occasions. He told his interrogators he had no problem in hiring "dashing officers from the flying squadrons" for heroin operations.

PAF planes travel all over the world and pilots in the trade place the sachets of heroin in computer parts, newspaper reports claimed.

Some newspapers have written that these incidents showed that PAF Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak had lost his grip and may have to resign if the accusations against his officers are proved. The armed forces have a tradition of maintaining silence when their own officers are accused. Recently, though, newspapers are getting more information from within the defence forces due to divisions within. This is a challenge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief who has already asked naval chief Admiral Mansur-ul Haq to resign for his alleged involvement in cases of corruption.