ISLAMABAD: The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has raised an objection to the unusually high annual requirements of ephedrine in Pakistan, according to a local English daily.

According to a court case, the alleged domestic diversion of significant amounts of ephedrine in Pakistan has been ongoing since 2012, according to the annual report 2017 by the INCB.

According to the report, the annual legitimate requirements for pseudoephedrine for Pakistan were below 50 tonnes between 2013 and 2017; whereas in 2017 the global average annual requirements are 14 tonnes.

The annual legitimate requirements of Syria and Turkey together with Pakistan are close to 50 tonnes. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates are some of the countries whose annual requirement was less than 12 tonnes.