‘Drug abuse destroying youth’

There is a need to adapt young people to rapidly changing technology, says Sindh Rangers DG Maj Gen Iftikhar Hassan

KARACHI:

The growing trend of drug addiction among the youth is a matter of concern and it must be stopped, Pakistan Rangers Sindh Director General Maj Gen Iftikhar Hassan Chaudhry said.

"Instead of diverting their talents, students have to develop their skills to rise up to the challenge of the fast changing world of technology, he said as a special guest at a seminar on International Day Against Drug Abuse Illicit Trafficking at Dow University of Health Sciences," he added.

Changes in technology are taking place so fast that it cannot be said with certainty that what will be children’s livelihood in the next 20 years, or what kind of job will they be doing, he said.

Quoting authentic studies he said that 70 per cent of existing job titles will be lost, replaced by new jobs and businesses, so there is a need to adapt young people to rapidly changing technology.

“Everyone from our doctors to engineers to journalists will be out of work,” he said pointing towards the emergence of artificial intelligence as replacement of human resource.

In a fast paced world where artificial intelligence is emerging as a challenge to the human mind, there is no room for drugs but also less space for social media because it is also a type of addiction. Don’t skip it, at least limit it, he said urging the students to concentrate more on development of professional skills and moral character.

He highlighted the growing trend of drug addiction in educational institutions and said that it was the institutes that paved the way for the country’s development.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2021.