After ‘Predators’ and ‘Reapers’, a different ‘Drone’ haunts Pakistani tribesmen

Alcoholic concoction, used as cure-all drink by disquiet young minds, takes over K-P

LANDI KOTAL:

‘Drone’ has taken Pakistan’s tribal districts by storm. Yes, you heard it right! ‘Drone’! But we are not talking about US ‘Predators’ and ‘Reapers’ that rained down death on the people of erstwhile tribal regions. It’s an alcoholic concoction.

‘Drone’ was concocted by moonshiners and the youth in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber tribal district, which was once infamous for militancy and poppy cultivation. “The ingredients of this alcoholic drink are easily available over-the-counter drugs, syrups and cold drinks,” a resident told The Express Tribune.

A Tirah-based doctor confirmed that the concoction originated in Tirah and proliferated quickly to the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. “It has been given this funny name because it instantly makes you high and you start feeling light,” the doctor said speaking on the condition that he would not be identified.

The communities hit hardest by the drug epidemic are those already devastated by the war on terror. Tens of thousands of tribal people - displaced by years of military operations against terrorists - have returned to their homes. But they have been welcomed by devastating economic conditions and a valley with scant resources.

A raw manifestation of this economic depression is a parallel ongoing invisible psychic depression that steers the disquiet young minds toward ‘Drone’ – a cure-all elixir [pun intended].

“Several kinds of sleeping tablets are dissolved in a popular soft-drink along with two types of sedative cough syrups along with easily available cheap drugs to make this drink which is sold for a few hundreds rupees,” the doctor said.

Also read: Walk held to highlight harmful effects of drugs

However, the explosive flooding of the drink prompted hand-wringing among members of the local Aman Committee who had to announce a feverish ban on certain cough syrups to rein in the rampancy of the drug.

“Any shopkeeper found selling these cough syrups will be penalised with a fine – and a warning.” The dramatic flood of drugs has also brewed concerns among local elders who have been scrambling for measures to keep tabs on the selling and purchasing of drugs but all in vain.

Local doctors believe the leading cause of the immediate spread of the drug is unemployment. “Youngsters are jobless. Previously, growing cannabis was a profitable business. But for the past couples of years, security forces have banned the transportation of fertilisers which were used in the production of IEDs and explosives by terrorists.”

“So unemployment, frustration and such social problems are pushing the young people toward the drugs,” he explained. The spotty law enforcement and local authorities have failed to curtail and understand the situation which is quickly hurtling out of control.

In this socio-cultural vacuum and uprooted fabric of the community, drug dealers are luring the young desperate minds to cash in on the situation, said the local elders, demanding action from the district authorities.