November 06, 2024 05:27 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy booked for threatening cop probing into mining case | Supreme Court upholds validity of Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Act | Not all private properties are community resources that govt can take over: Supreme Court | Pakistan's Lahore has become world's most polluted city with an AQI of 1900 on Sunday | Indian Army 'successfully completes' patrolling to a key point in Ladakh's Depsang region
Pakistan witnessing rise in drug abuse: Reports
Pakistan Drug Abuse
Image: Pixabay

Pakistan witnessing rise in drug abuse: Reports

| @indiablooms | 02 Jul 2023, 10:04 pm

The police, the Anti-Narcotics Force and the Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Department are probably not operating at their pick potential as is evident from the rising drug abuse among the youth, media reports said.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that scores of drug addicts can be seen injecting drugs at some of the busiest thoroughfares, parks, markets and roadsides in major cities across Pakistan. Cities like Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Quetta, Hyderabad, Sheikhupura, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sialkot and Jhelum have become virtual hotbeds for drug trade and addiction, The News International reported.

Many wonder at the apparent ease with which huge quantities of narcotics are smuggled into Pakistan to reach every corner of the country.

While the illicit trade spreads across the country, some law enforcement officials brazenly make questionable claims in connection with their efforts to deal with drug dealers. There is more interest on display, however, in shifting responsibility for the failures instead of galvanising into action against narcotics dealers, the newspaper reported.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior Peshawar-based police officer says that arresting those dealing in large quantities of drugs is the prime responsibility of the ANF.

However, he says, “Most big cities and many smaller towns are infested with drug addicts. Is it not clear that the ANF is not discharging its duties effectively? It is lagging behind. To top it off, it wants the police to perform duty in its place.”

Ehsan-ul Haq, the ANF joint director, has a different view.

Speaking to The News on Sunday, he says: “It is wrong to suggest that the ANF alone is responsible for operations against drug traffickers. Instead, it’s a joint duty of the police, the ANF and the Excise Department”. He says that the focus of these forces varies in accordance with their manpower and nature of duty. The ANF, he says, has limited manpower and resources as compared to the police.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Images
Xi Jinping, Putin in Russia 22 Mar 2023, 02:56 pm
Related Videos