Pakistan witnessing rise in drug abuse

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.