ISLAMABAD - Anti Narcotics Force Tuesday informed the National Assembly panel that a survey conducted in 2012 had revealed that 6.7 million people, approximately six per cent of the population, had been using drugs in Pakistan.
A survey jointly conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Division says that these 6.7 million people used any controlled substance, including misuse of prescription drugs in 2012, Director ANF Brigadier Muhammad Basharat told the NA Standing Committee on Interior. The committee met in the chair of MNA Syed Javed Ali Shah.
The report of the survey conducted in 2012 was later released in 2013 with the title "Drug Use in 2013". The report on "Drug use in Pakistan 2013" was the result of a collaborative research effort between Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and UNODC.
Director ANF giving reference to this survey informed the committee that 4 million people in the country are hashish users, 1.1 million opiate users, 0.8 million are regular heroin users as well as 0.3 million people used opium. He said that fresh drug users’ survey would be conducted in the country after the national census exercise would end.
Secretary Narcotics Control Division Ijaz Ali Khan said that 90 per cent of the world's opium was being produced in Afghanistan and out of it, 40 to 45 per cent is transported through Pakistan. He said that Pakistan had been declared poppy-free cultivation country by UNODC.
Giving briefing to the participants about the use of drugs in educational institutions, Director ANF said that ANF, ICT Police and Punjab Rangers jointly conducted an operation in December last year against drug supplies to the students and staff at Quaid-e-Azam University. "11 raids were conducted during this operation at QAU, 14 accused were arrested while 0.420kg heroin, 1.165kg hashish, 0.009kg cocaine, 0.032 LSD and 10 tins of bears were confiscated from the university premises," says the working paper of ANF submitted to the committee. The ANF officer was of the view that the use of drugs in educational institutions had not increased too much as the media was over projecting the issue. He said that ANF was in close contact with the managements of educational institutions to check the supply of drugs. He said that media had created unnecessary hype on the issue.
However, the chairman committee and MNA Naeema Kishwer stressed that the use of drugs in the educational institutions had increased considerably and there was dire need to check supplies of drugs to these.
The committee earlier had taken notice of the increasing use of drugs to the educational institutions especially of elite class schools. While the Ministry of Interior had also directed the authorities concerned for launching an operation against drug suppliers and users at QAU. The committee took up five private members bills and deferred all till the final outcome from the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control and Ministry of Law and Justice.
During discussion over the Federal Witness Protection Bill, 2015 moved by MNA Ms Aisha Syed, a representative of law ministry told the committee that government sponsored Witness Protection Bill was under consideration and a draft of the bill had been presented before the law reforms committee. The law division said that consultations with the provinces were under way as if the witness would have to be relocated then consent of the province should necessarily be needed. The chair directed that the law division should study both the bills and come up with proposals in the next meeting.
While objecting over three proposed laws regarding cannibalism, necrophilia and grave robbery, Joint Secretary Ministry of Interior Anita Turab said that these offences could not be included through amendments in the existing law as all there are of different nature.
The committee was briefed about the PSDP (Public Sector Development Projects) for the year 2017-18 for the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control. The committee with majority of votes approved the PSDP projects of the Narcotics Control Division and deferred the PSDP projects pertaining to the Ministry of Interior till its next meeting expected to be held on February 21.