‘Public must play role for drug-free society’

DIG police urges students, teachers to remain vigilant against social menace

ABBOTABAD:

Hazara Region Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Mirwais Niaz has said that while police is duty-bound to take legal action against outlaws, especially drug peddlers, it is also the moral duty of every member of society to play their role in eradicating the menace.

While addressing a one-day seminar on Drug Awareness organised at the COMSATS University Abbottabad Campus on Thursday, the DIG said it was imperative to prevent the use of drugs, which has been spreading rapidly in all segments of society – especially among students.

He said that on the special instructions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jahan Ansari, special teams have been formed for drug prevention in the entire province.

Niaz went on to say that society as a whole needs to realise the severity of the crime, which is not only extremely dangerous and unhealthy, but will have long lasting effects on the future generation.

The DIG said he expected all teachers and students of COMSATS University to extend their full support to the police in the ongoing campaign for the eradication of drugs.

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It is interesting to note that according to a 2013 survey by the United Nations, the KP province harbours the most drug addicts in Pakistan, consisting of roughly 10% of the provincial population.

As the population of Hazara division is estimated at seven million, this means that around 700,000 people of Hazara are addicted to drugs. Of these, a large percentage consists of college and university students – both male and female.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2022.