5 KP regions lag behind in drive against ice

By Javed Aziz Khan
March 08, 2021

PESHAWAR: Five regions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police are far behind Peshawar and Mardan in the drive against ice the use of which has reached alarming levels across the province and the country.

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An aggressive operation against ice dealers, manufacturers and traffickers has been launched across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the number of its addicts increased manifold in the last few years. However, the number of addicts is still growing despite hectic efforts and operations by the police and other forces.

A campaign has also been launched in Peshawar, Mardan and many other districts to create awareness among the parents, teachers and general public about the harms of ice, heroin, hashish and all kinds of drugs. It has been learnt that some tablets and syrups being sold at medical stores are also being used by the addicts when they can’t find other drugs.

“We have launched an awareness campaign involving educational institutions, prayer leaders, elected members, elders and other forums as part of the operation against the menace of drugs. The prayer leaders have been asked to educate people about the harms of ice and all kinds of drugs during Friday sermons and daily darses,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Operations, Peshawar Yasir Afridi told The News.

The official said 19 kilogram of ice was recovered during operations in Peshawar during January while 22kg was seized in February. Also, 362kg of heroin was recovered in Peshawar during the last year,

Yasir Afridi said. He added that a special desk has been established in the provincial capital to monitor operations against ice.

According to the official data, 55kg ice was recovered in Peshawar during the operations in 2019 while 73.4kg was seized in 2020.

The second biggest recovery, 57kg, was made by the Mardan district police in 2020. The recovery in Mardan in 2019 was 32kg.

“Apart from tasking all the SHOs, we are carrying out special operations against ice, heroin and other drugs. Besides, police are educating youth, parents, teachers and the public through seminars, walks and Friday sermons,” Mardan’s District Police Officer, Zahid Ullah Jan told The News.

Overall, the recovery in the Mardan region was the highest in 2020. A total of 115kg ice was recovered from the region which included 57kg from the divisional headquarters, 34kg from Charsadda, 12kg from Nowshera and 11kg from Swabi.

On the other hand, a total of 39kg recovery of ice was made by the police in the remaining five divisions including Malakand, Hazara, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan during the year 2020. The statistics showed that 9.8kg ice was recovered in Kohat region, 4kg in Hazara, 13kg in Bannu, 8.1kg in Dera Ismail Khan and 4.4kg in Malakand during 2020.

In recovery of heroin, Hazara was on top among the regions with 259kg followed by Mardan with 209kg, Bannu 73, Dera Ismail Khan 66, Malakand 58 and Kohat 45kg.

There was zero recovery of ice from Torghar, Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, Chitral and Upper Dir and Lower Dir. There was no mention of recoveries from the seven newly merged districts.

The statistics show that either the numbers of addicts as well as gangs are high in Peshawar and Mardan or the police in other divisions are yet to kick off aggressive operations in their areas of jurisdiction. The menace of ice can be controlled easily if it is at an early stage in the divisions and districts with insignificant recovery.

Police across the province were directed recently to tighten the noose around the sellers, smugglers and manufacturers of drugs, especially ice. The use of ice, heroin and other drugs has increased in KP and rest of the country over the last few years.

Thousands of addicts can be seen on roads and streets daily as the concerned departments and administration have failed miserably to rehabilitate the victims. Also, the departments concerned have failed to stop the production, smuggling and sale of the drugs.

Many of those tasked to eradicate the menace are busy only in increasing the number of FIRs with recovery of just a few grams instead of focusing on cutting the supply route and going after the mafias earning billions from the drug business.

More students, youth and even women and teenagers are now becoming addicted to ice as there is no effective check from parents, teachers and the society.

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