17m varsity students found addicted to drugs, Senate panel told

ISLAMABAD: Around 17 million students, aged between 18 and 31, were found addicted to drugs, Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) officials told the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights.

The Senate committee on Tuesday delved into growing trend of drugs usage among the students and the steps undertaken by the relevant departments for the prevention of this menace.

In the meeting of the committee, chaired by its Chairperson Samina Mumtaz Zehri, ANF officials informed that the force, on the directives of the Prime Minister, initiated drugs awareness campaign in 237 universities across the country back in February 2024.

In the campaign, they told the committee that around 17 million students, aged between 18 and 31, were found addicted to drugs, and it uncovered 31 drug traffickers along with 140 kg worth of drugs.

The committee highlighted the lack of scientific evidence or statistics providing reasons of growing drugs usage among the students. The committee opined that scientific evidence could play pivotal role in combating drug’s menace.

The chairperson of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, pointed out that she has not witnessed any advertisement campaign initiated by the ministry, highlighting adverse effects of drugs.

Senator Zehri maintained that vapes, which has adverse effects on human health, is being sold in stores across Islamabad, and no one cares to crack down on it. She directed that comparative analysis highlighting the outcomes of the campaigns undertaken under the guidance of the ministry be provided in the upcoming meeting.

NCRC Chairperson Ayesha Raza Farooq stated that campaigns featuring teachers and parents should be initiated at schools level to curb the growing menace of drugs. She also highlighted the declining ‘play time’ among the students, which plays a major role in inclining students towards drugs usage.

Officials of the Federal Directorate of Education also apprised of the mechanism adopted for the prevention of drugs across the 432 public institutions located in Islamabad. They informed that the schools are instructed to do random checks to detect drugs usage and FDE has also introduced a curriculum highlighting effects of drugs and with aim to discourage drugs usage among the young generation.

Most importantly, FDE also initiated a campaign in collaboration with Taskeen APP and Umre Rawan extending psychological assistance to students suffering from any mental illness.

The committee directed the FDE to submit all the books containing chapters focusing drugs awareness content in the upcoming meeting.

DIG ICT informed that around 78 cases have been registered from 2023 to date, and 735 individuals have been arrested, with 131kg worth of drugs seized.

ICT Police has also launched campaign involving civil society and Chambers of Commerce called ‘Friends of Police’ to raise awareness among the young people about drugs.

Furthermore, Deputy Representative Programmes for UNICEF in Pakistan, Sharmeela Rassool briefed about the steps undertaken to improve the lives of children across the country.

She stated that UNICEF is focused on children’s welfare, and with the joint efforts of UNICEF and the Punjab Government, the nutrition status of children has been improved.