WEST PAKISTAN PROHIBITION OF OPIUM SMOKING ORDINANCE, 1960

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THE WEST PAKISTAN PROHIBITION OF OPIUM SMOKING 
ORDINANCE, 1960 
(II of 1960) 
CONTENTS 
1. Short title and extent 
2. Definitions 
3. Prohibition of opium smoking 
4. Offences and punishments 
5. Penalty when owner fails to give notice of use of place for opium 
6. Penalty for keeping or using a place used for opium smoking 
7. Penalty for offences not otherwise provided for 
8. Presumption raised by presence of opium smoking appliances 
9. Search warrants and powers to search 
10. Powers of excise officers to search without warrant 
11. Procedure for arrest, etc 
12. Special powers of excise officer 
13. Bail and security 
14. Aid to excise officer 
15. Confiscation and destruction of opium and things seized 
16. Offences to be triable by first class Magistrate only 
17. Bar of suits and proceedings 
18. Repeal 
SCHEDULE 
 
TEXT 
1
THE WEST PAKISTAN PROHIBITION OF OPIUM SMOKING ORDINANCE, 
1960 
(II of 1960) 
[20th January, 1960] 
An 
Ordinance 
to amend and consolidate the law relating to the prohibition of opium smoking in the 
Province of West Pakistan. 
Preamble.– Whereas it is expedient to amend and consolidate the law relating to the 
prohibition of opium smoking in the Province of West Pakistan; 
 Now, therefore, in pursuance of the Presidential Proclamation of the seventh 
day of October, 1958, and having received the previous instructions of the President, 
the Governor of West Pakistan is pleased, in exercise of all powers enabling him in 
that behalf, to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:– 
1.  Short title and extent.– (1) This Ordinance may be called the West Pakistan 
Prohibition of Opium Smoking Ordinance, 1960. 
2
[(2) It extends to the whole of 
3
[Pakistan].] 
2.  Definitions.– In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires, the 
following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to 
them, that is to say– 
(a) “Collector” means any off icer appointed by Government to discharge 
throughout any specified local area the functions of a Collector under 
this Ordinance; 
(b) “excise officer” means an officer of the Excise Department not below 
the rank of a Sub-Inspector; 
(c) “Government” means the 
4
[Provincial Government]; 
(d) “opium” means any product of opium obtained by any series of 
operations designed to transform opium into an extract suitable for 
smoking, and the dross or other residue remaining after opium is 
                                                 
1This Ordinance was promulgated by the Governor of West Pakistan on 31st July, 1959; published in the West Pakistan 
Gazette (Ex traordinary), dated 20th July, 1960, pages 83 -88; saved and given permanent effect by Article 225 of the 
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1962). 
2Substituted by the West Pakistan Laws (Extension to Karachi) Ordinance, 1964 (VII of 1964); and published in the West Pakistan 
Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 25.5.1964, pages 1679-1688, see s.2 and Schedule, at s.No.32. 
3Substituted for “the Province of West Pakistan, except the Tribal Areas.”  by the Federal Adaptation of Laws Order, 1975 (P.O. 
4 o f 1975 ); and published in the Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), dated 1.8.1975, pages 435 -467, see Article 2(1) and 
Schedule. 
4Substituted ibid., for “Government of West Pakistan.” 
smoked, and includes Chandu, Madhak and every other preparation or 
admixture of opium which may be used for smoking; and 
(e) “place” includes a building, house, shop, booth, chhaper, tent, vessel, 
raft and vehicle or any part thereof. 
3.  Prohibition of opium smoking .– No person shall manufacture, possess or 
smoke opium, or possess any implement or appratus used, or capable of being 
used, exclusively for the manufacture of opium, or any pipe or utensil for smoking 
opium. 
4.  Offences and punishments.– Whoever contravenes the provisions of section 
3 of this Ordinance, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term 
which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees 
or with both. 
5.  Penalty when owner fails to give notice of use of place f or opium .– 
Whoever being an occupier or owner of, or having any concern in, the management of 
any place, permits such place to be used, or knowing or having reason to believe that 
such place is being or is about to be used for the purposes of opium smoking  or 
manufacture of opium in contravention of the provisions of this Ordinance, fails either 
himself or through his agent or manager to give the earliest possible notice of such 
knowledge or belief to the Collector or to an excise officer or to the officer incharge of 
the nearest police -station, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five 
hundred rupees. 
6.  Penalty for keeping or using a place used for opium smoking .– Whoever 
keeps or uses any place or permits any place to be kept for the purposes of opium 
smoking or manufacture or possession of opium or has in his care or management, or 
in any way assists in conducting the business or, any place used or kept for the 
aforesaid purposes, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term 
which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, 
or with both. 
7.  Penalty for offences not otherwise provided for .– Whoever is guilty of any 
act or intentional omission in contravention of any of the provisions of thi s Ordinance 
and not otherwise provided for herein shall be punished for every such act or 
omission with a fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. 
8.  Presumption raised by presence of opium smoking appliances.– Whenever 
any person is found in possessi on of any pipes or utensils ordinarily used for opium 
smoking or of any apparatus used in the manufacture of opium, it shall be presumed, 
unless the contrary is proved, that he has manufactured or smoked opium. 
9.  Search warrants and powers to search.– If a Collector, a District Magistrate, 
a Sub -Divisional Magistrate or a magistrate of the first class, upon information 
received and after such inquiry, if any, as he considers necessary, has reason to 
believe that any place is being or is likely to be used for the commission of an offence 
punishable under section 4,5 or 6, he may issue a warrant to an excise officer 
authorising him– 
(a) to enter and search such place by day or night, accompanied by any 
person whose assistance such officer may consider necess ary for the 
discovery of any opium or any appliance for the preparation of opium or 
for opium smoking in such place; 
(b) to arrest and search all or any such persons as may be found in such 
place and reasonably believed by the excise officer to be guilty o f an 
offence punishable under this Ordinance, whether they are actually 
engaged in opium smoking or not; and 
(c) to seize all appliances for opium smoking or for the manufacture of 
opium which may be found in such place. 
10. Powers of excise officers to se arch without warrant .– (1) Whenever an 
excise officer has reason to believe that an offence punishable under section 4,5 or 6 
has been, is being or is about to be committed in any place and that a search warrant 
under section 9 cannot be obtained without a ffording the offender an opportunity of 
escape or of concealing evidence of the offence, he may, at any time, after recording his 
reasons, take such action as he could have taken if a warrant in respect of the said 
offence had been issued to him under section 9. 
(2)  The excise officer taking any action under sub -section (1) shall, as 
soon as possible, intimate in writing the action taken and th e grounds of his belief to 
the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the place. 
11.  Procedure for arrest, etc .– The p rovisions of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1898
5
, relating to arrest, detention in custody, execution of warrants and 
searches shall be applicable to all actions taken in these respects by an excise 
officer under this Ordinance. 
12.  Special powers of ex cise officer .– (1) Government may, by notification, 
invest
6
 any excise officer, by virtue of his appointment, with power to investigate any 
offence punishable under this Ordinance committed within the limits of the area in 
which such officer exercises jurisdiction. 
(2)  Every excise officer empowered under sub -section (1) may, within the 
said limits, exercise, as far as may be, the same powers in respect of such 
investigation as an officer incharge of a police station may exercise in a cognizable 
case under the provisions of Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 18987. 
13.  Bail and security .– When any person arrested under this Ordinance is 
prepared to furnish bail, he shall be released on bail or, at the discretion of the officer 
making the arrest, on his own bond. 
14.  Aid to excise officer .– Every officer of the Police and Revenue Department 
shall be bound upon request made in that behalf to render lawful aid to any excise 
officer while acting under the provisions of this Ordinance. 
                                                 
5V of 1898. 
6All excise officers have been invested with powers to inves tigate offences punishable under this Ordinance committed within 
their respective jurisdiction, see Gazette of West Pakistan, Pt. I., p.266. 
7V of 1898. 
15. Confiscation and destruction of opium and things seized .– Any 
implement or apparatus used or capable of being used exclusively for the 
manufacture of opium and any pipe or utensil for smoking opium, wherever found, 
shall be confiscated and destroyed under the order s of a Magistrate having 
jurisdiction in the area where such implement, apparatus, pipe or utensil is found. 
16.  Offences to be triable by first class Magistrate only.– No Magistrate other 
than a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punisha ble under this 
Ordinance. 
17.  Bar of suits and proceedings.– No suit or proceedings shall lie in any civil or 
criminal court for any act in good faith done or ordered to be done in pursuance of 
this Ordinance. 
18.  Repeal.– The enactments specified in the  first three columns of the Schedule 
are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in the fourth column thereof. 
 
 
SCHEDULE 
(See SECTION 18) 
 
Year No. Short title Extent of repeal 
1 2 3 4 
1940 XX The Sind Opium Smoking Act, 1940. The whole. 
1948 VII The Bahawalpur State Prohibition of 
Intoxicants Act, 1948. 
(i) In clause (iv) of section 2, 
the words “and opium 
smoking” 
(ii) In section 3, clause (c). 
1950 IV The Baluchistan Opium Smoking 
Regulation, 1950. 
The whole. 
1953 XIII The Punjab Prohibition of Op ium 
Smoking Act, 1952. 
The Whole. 
1954 IV The North -West Frontier Province 
Prohibition of Opium Smoking Act, 
1954. 
The whole.