Lahore - Lahore Capital City Police Officer Bashir Ahmad Nasir on Wednesday said that it is the collective responsibility of citizens, police and administration of educational institutions to save youth from the menace of drugs.

“We should take measures for the rehabilitation of the drug addicts, sympathizing with them instead of leaving them in isolation,” the city police chief said while addressing a seminar on “increasing trend of use of drugs in educational institutions and its prevention.”

Former Additional-IG Altaf Qamar, senior journalist Zia Shahid, SSP Mustansir Feroz, Chancellors and principals of different universities and colleges, teachers, students, and police officers also attended the seminar.  CCPO BA Nasir said the use of drugs by students in the educational institutes is an alarming situation for the society because its adverse implications are felt not only by the victims but also their family members as well as whole society. 

He further said that psychological problems, isolation, poverty, and peer pressure are the main causes of drugs addiction among the youth. He said that closeness to Allah and religion is the only solution and the source of prevention from negative social trends including drugs addiction. 

BA Nasir said that Lahore Police took concrete measures including crackdown against drug peddlers in the city and persons involved in selling drugs in and around educational institutions.

He informed the participants that Lahore Police held more than 68 consultation meetings with the heads and administration of different educational institutes to formulate a joint strategy for the eradication of drugs from educational institutes. As many as 57 search operations were conducted at different educational institutions along with hostels and related places during last three months against drug peddlers where as 39 surveillance teams were constituted to initiate affective monitoring regarding the activities of drug peddlers in and around different educational institutes.  Director Students Affairs Dr Shahid Khokhar, Dr Sajjad Hafeez from AIDS Prevention Programme, Voice Chancellor Lahore College for Women University, film actor Rashid Mehmood also spoke on this occasion. –Staff Reporter