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Press Statement by Philip T. Reeker, Acting Spokesman Pakistan: Sentencing of Sakhi Dost Notezai On April 24, a court in Quetta, Pakistan sentenced two prominent drug traffickers to life imprisonment. The United States has been following the case of one of them, Sakhi Dost Notezai, since his arrest in October 1990 in a Pakistani counter-narcotics operation that seized 1.7 tons of heroin, 7.9 tons of hashish, and 255 kg of opium. Notezai, a member of the so-called "Quetta Alliance" narco-trafficking network, is the most significant trafficker ever tried in Pakistan's courts. His case is an important precedent in Pakistan's fight against narcotics trafficking organizations. Notezai's case went to the courts in 1993 and he was convicted in 1997. However, through legal maneuvering, Notezai had managed to avoid sentencing, a stalemate ended by this decision. The United States Government notes and applauds this demonstration of political will by authorities in Pakistan. [end of document]
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