ISLAMABAD - With the number of drug addicts reaching nearly seven million in the country, the government has decided to include anti-drug courses in the curriculum in order to raise awareness among youth about the ill-effects of drugs as well as its fallout on society.
Speaking at a regional counter narcotics seminar, Federal Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman said the government was determined to fight the menace of drugs and its abuse by not only creating awareness among masses but will also include anti-drug literature in curricula.
The seminar that was organised on Tuesday by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UODC) and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was attended by delegates from 40 countries aimed at highlighting the ills of drug trafficking and it’s fallouts on society, significant of which is transformation of transit states into victim countries.
The participants of the seminar emphasised on sorting out drug challenges and counter narcotic measures, capacity building of anti-drug setups by UNODC, measures to improve drug enforcement, role of media in awareness campaigns, ill-effects of addiction and treatment and negative/psychiatric problems of addicts.
Minister Balighur Rehman, who is also minister of state for interior, said that drug was like a cancer for a society; therefore Pakistan was making all-out efforts to eradicate it because it was affecting youth which, he said, was alarming thing for the government.
The present government, he said, has recently enacted a law to fight the menace of drug and other crimes. He also emphasised the commitment of Pakistan to stand along the international community in fight against drug.
The minister said that Pakistan was one of the frontline states in the war against drugs; therefore, the country had taken a number of initiatives to control spread and trafficking of illicit narcotics. However, Pakistan can not fight this menace alone; therefore, international cooperation is important pillar of Pakistan’s strategy against drugs, he said.
Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination, Saira Afzal Tarar, said that in Pakistan the extent of addiction could well be imagined by Drug Use Survey- 2013, which revealed that there were 6.7m drug addicts in Pakistani society. While quoting UNODC Report–2013, she said that there were 137 addiction treatment services in both government and private sector.
The minister said that she would write letters to all provincial healthcare commissions to regulate these services and centres. Drug abuse has adverse effects on health, causes upsurge in crimes and destroys individuals and families socially as well as financially, she said.
Cesar Guedes, representative of UNODC, reaffirmed UNODC support in capacity building of drug related law enforcement agencies (LEA) and providing key role for improving international cooperation across the globe. He said that the current drug situation in the West Asia region, which produces 90% of the global opium cultivation, was alarming as highlighted in the recent UNODC World Drug Report. The total area currently under cultivation has increased from 209,000 hectares in 2013 to 224,000 hectares in 2014, thus showing an increase of 7%, he said.
He said that the opium production had gone up from 5,500 tons in 2013 to 6,400 tons in 2014, showing a surge of 17%. This is of deep concern for the international community in general and for Pakistan in particular as the main transit country for trafficking of these opiates, he said.
Cesar said that Pakistan was the world’s first line of defence against drug trafficking emanating from the region. In this respect, Pakistan is very much in between the supply and demand, and is a victim of the drug trade, he added. Though the ultimate destinations are Europe, Australasia and North America, along the course of this trafficking there is an increasing amount of those drugs staying in the transit countries, hence encouraging the formation of new consumption markets, he said. He said that the government of Pakistan had time and again showed its resolve and seriousness in combating the drug trade not only in the country but also at the regional and international levels. This is clearly evident by the record drug seizures of 250 tons, the country has made during 2013, he said.
If the people lose lives in a bomb blast, it hit headlines world over; however, 550 deaths per day caused by the drug go unnoticed, said Director General ANF Major General Khawar Hanif while speaking on the occasion. He said 243 million drug addicts and their families suffer due to illicit drug. These statistics clearly indicate that the damage caused by drug to human in terms of life, peace and stability is much higher and universal that is threatening nations’s security, he said. He said Pakistan was declared poppy-free country in 2007 but due to its porous border with Afghanistan, which produced around 70 percent of drugs, Pakistan was most vulnerable.
Ghalib Ali Bandesha, Secretary narcotics control division, IGP (Retd) Saud Mirza, Brigadier (Retd) Mowadat Rana, delegates from different countries, diplomatic community, LEAs officials, and representatives of NGOs and media also attended the seminar.