New Delhi: Declaring their resolve to fight the war against narcotic and psychedelic substances, India and Pakistan today (Dec 13, 2004) decided to explore avenues, including information and intelligence sharing and mutual legal assistance, to control the menace.

"We have to fight the war against narcotic drugs together. It is a common cause, has no borders and has no political considerations," Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force director general Maj Gen Nadeem Ahmed told reporters after a half-an-hour meeting with Home Minister Shivraj Patil in New Delhi.

Ahmed, who is heading a five-member Pakistani delegation, earlier in the day held talks with his Indian counterpart and director general of Narcotics Control Bureau Swaraj Puri on ways to control the spread of narcotic drugs like heroin and other psychedelics substances.

Similar sentiments on the resolve to combat drug smuggling were expressed by senior officials of the Indian side.

The agenda for the two-day parleys, being held as part of the ongoing composite dialogue process between the two countries, includes exchange of drafts of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations to device ways to combat the menace of heroin and other narcotic drugs, majority of which emanate from Afghanistan.

Among others present at the meeting with Patil were Puri, Pakistan's High Commissioner in India Aziz Ahmed Khan and senior officials from both sides.

An Indian delegation from NCB had visited Pakistan in June this year for the first round of talks to check smuggling of narcotic drugs in the region.