Last month, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi had created quite a stir when he told a Senate panel that the use of narcotic drugs, such as ice meth and crystal, had increased by an alarming 75 percent, especially among girl students in Islamabad's educational institutions. Although his statement was widely contested as being grossly exaggerated, there is no denying that substance abuse is a growing problem. While hearing a suo motu case on Friday, a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar expressed annoyance over the failure of the federal and provincial governments to devise an effective strategy for dealing with the menace, which is playing havoc with young lives. The court also rejected a report submitted by the Lahore Police, and ordered that a public awareness campaign be launched on social media.
Regarding awareness, as a report in this paper pointed out a few days ago, in Punjab the provincial Higher Education Department, School Education Department and Higher Education Commission have taken an important imitative. As many as 11,000 focal persons have been assigned the responsibility to check drug addiction and better inform students about the risks involved. That alone, though, is not going to resolve the problem as long as drugs are freely available. In its "Annual Report 2018 - Changing Trends in Use of Narcotics in Lahore" a non-governmental organisation, Drug Advisory Training Hub, notes that Lahore is the second biggest city after Karachi where narcotic drugs can be bought and sold without any trouble. Apparently, same is the situation in Islamabad and other major cities. That shows neither the police nor the Anti-Narcotics Force is doing their duty. In fact, going by some earlier reports about the rampant sale and purchase of such harmful products as 'gutka' in Karachi, the activity goes on with police connivance.
During the proceedings of the present case, the Chief Justice ordered the Additional Advocate General, Punjab, to tell the government to constitute a task force comprising experts who could make solid suggestions to eradicate the menace of drugs. The law officer offered the assurance that the government was seriously looking into the matter and that experts from the Anti-Narcotics Force were being asked to help address the issue. That should dispel public concern, though to a limited extent. It is unlikely to have a great mitigating effect unless the supply chain is broken. In that the police and the anti-narcotics department have the primary responsibility. It remains to be seen if they are ready to take up the challenge.