Rawalpindi-Sale of drugs is going on unchecked in Potha Sharif village of Murree, pushing the locals including school-going children to use narcotics.
The Murree police are apparently taking no action against the drug mafia operating in the locality with impunity.
Annoyed with open sale of drugs in the locality, the traders had not only launched protest movement in Aliot Bazaar but they also displayed banners urging the police to eliminate the menace from the village and to initiate legal action against the drug sellers.
These views were expressed by a group of residents of the village while talking to The Nation on Wednesday. The delegation comprised Raja Waqar, Raja Ashan, Umer Hayyat Abbasi, Haji Asif and Waheed.
“Open drug sale and use has exploded in Potha Sharif village for last many months, endangering lives of youth, especially the school going children,” said Raja Waqar. He added that the drug sellers who are 3 in strength has ballooned their illegal business in the area without any fear and playing havoc with lives of local villagers.
Waheed, a property dealer by profession, said that the drug sellers had been camping around Govt Boys High School, Potha Sharif and are supplying drugs to the students. He said that a gang of 3 persons is involved in sale of drugs in the area. He said that earlier police arrested them but courts granted bails to them. “They are doing it more blatantly now. They know that they’re not going to get in trouble or get arrested”, he asserted.
“Our school-going children are being pushed by the gang to use the drugs that can ruin their lives,” said Asif, another villager. Umer Hayyat Abbasi told The Nation that the matter had also been brought into notice of elected public representatives to take action against the drug sellers but in vein.
“This is ridiculous. We voted them to power to get our problems solved but our requests are not making any difference”, he said
The villagers appealed to Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Amjad Javed Saleemi and City Police Officer Abbas Ahsan to take serious notice of the alarming situation and to order Murree police to crackdown against the drug sellers.
Superintendent of Police Saddar Rai Mazhar, however, when contacted by The Nation for his comments, said that he would obtain information from SHO Murree and would direct take punitive action against the drug mafia operating there.