The opiate trade

A recent report by the International Narcotics Control Broad carries two stark warnings: one, that opiate abuse among adult Pakistanis has increased by almost 40 percent in recent years; two, Pakistan remains central to the international drug trade in the region and beyond. The increase in opiate abuse in Pakistan comes with a stark health warning: 37 percent of opiate users are estimated to be HIV-positive. The numbers are not surprising, given the increasing instability across the border in Afghanistan, and the sheer apathy of the government of Pakistan towards the drug trade and drug users in the country. Pakistan continues to serve as a key node in regional drug trafficking networks. The report notes that tons of cannabis resin shipments were sent to western countries from Pakistan. The UN has reported that the Balkan route from Afghanistan is no longer acting as a drug corridor and that shipments are going by sea from Pakistan to Europe.
The story is one of apathy and complicity. Around one percent of the population of Pakistan between 15 and 64 years of age are now estimated to be addicted to hard drugs. The reality is that there are two separate approaches needed for each. On the one side, there needs to be a strong crackdown on drug trafficking. On the other side, there must be a more sympathetic and curative approach taken towards drug users. While Pakistan still lags behind Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Iran with around 2-3 percent of their populations estimated to be drug abusers, the growth of drug users in our country is alarming. Approximately over two million people in Pakistan are addicted to drugs, and the country can only offer treatment to about 30,000 drug users. The spread of HIV amongst these users due to unsafe injecting practices continues to be a significant problem. The heydays of heroin trade in Pakistan – of the Zia – era may have been left behind but opiate trade still constitutes a major part of the income of various Taliban-affiliated groupings on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. Curbing the opium trade is therefore necessary not only to improve the public health of Pakistan’s population, but to cut the sources of funding to various Islamist militant groups. A holistic approach to the opium question is long overdue.