Easy abuse

The fact that 8.9 million people are drug addicts in Pakistan is a matter of concern. According to estimates, in 2013, 6.7 million people used illicit substances in Pakistan; and in 2014, 8 million people used illicit substances. This means that use of drugs is alarming piling up in Pakistan.
Cannabis is the most commonly used drug in Pakistan followed by opiates (opium and heroin). Drug abuse is most prevalent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which shares a porous border with Afghanistan just like Balochistan. Pakistan has been declared a poppy-free country since 2011 by the United Nations but the fact is that large quantities of opium, heroin, and cannabis are smuggled from Afghanistan to the global markets via Pakistan, which results in easy availability of illicit drugs in Pakistan.
Pakistan is not only a transit hub but also a consumer of different drugs. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium – producing 90 percent of the world’s opium. This year, from January to June the Anti-Narcotics Force seized 89 tons of Afghan narcotics being smuggled through Pakistan.
Pakistan has become a major transit country for the drugs produced in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980s and the drug money was used to fund the anti-Soviet mujahideen. In 1980, there were only 50,000 drug users in Pakistan while today more than 500,000 people only inject drugs in the country. Drug money is now also being used to fund terrorists.
It has long been believed that suicide attackers are given drugs for the purpose of emboldening them before their suicide attacks. In 2012, five boys arrested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before carrying out suicide attacks were found to be under the influence of narcotics. In March, this year Isis released a video showing its members using drugs a few minutes before their suicide attacks in Libya.
Drug abuse is rapidly increasing in Pakistan amongst students in colleges and universities. According to one estimate, one out of every 10 college/university student is a substance abuser. In Karachi a private university was found to have 20 out of 30 students using cannabis. Drug abuse is common among students living in hostels.
Moreover, drug abuse leads people into criminal activities. It is not easy for drug addicts to continue their drug habit on a regular basis due to poverty and thus, they resort to property crimes such as burglary to fulfil their need to use illegal substances. Apart from criminal activities, the use of drugs not only leads to diseases such as hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and AIDs but also death. Around 700 drug-related deaths occur every day in Pakistan.
Drugs are easy available in every province and are being sold fearlessly and with impunity. Police do not carry out their duties regarding drug sale and use sincerely; drug peddlers either grease the palm of police officers or are backed by influential locals. On January 28, 2014, a sub-inspector, who was on patrol at night, caught six people red-handed possessing 500 grams of charas in their car in Rawalpindi. In spite of the fact that they were caught red-handed, the sub-inspector let the accused free and gave the narcotics back to them after taking a bribe.
In 2009, a DSP was suspended by the IGP as a favour to drug business owners. Being a small force, the Anti-Narcotics Force does not have the capability to eradicate the drug problem completely, without the support of the police and other law-enforcement agencies. Most importantly, the top priority of the government should be to protect the long Pak-Afghan border and coastal areas of Pakistan so that neither should drugs from Afghanistan be brought to Pakistan nor should they be smuggled to other countries from Pakistan; recently, the Indian navy and coastguard intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea and found 200 kilograms heroin from their possession.
Recently, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) launched a five-month drug prevention campaign in nine cities of Sindh to create awareness regarding drug abuse and its effect on individuals, families and societies. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan badly need such steps as both of the provinces share porous borders with Afghanistan.
The writer is a Turbat-based freelance contributor.
Email: Monis.ali.baloch@gmail.com