Health commission shuts illegal drug rehab clinic
A drug addict sits in a drug rehabilitation centre which provides treatment to drug addicts. Addicts gather in abandoned buildings and then 'shoot-up'. Pakistan has more than four million drug addicts in its population of 170 million, according to figures compiled by the country's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). PHOTO: AFP
The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) sealed an illegal drug treatment and rehabilitation centre in Bahawalpur on Wednesday after shifting 16 inmates to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital.
The clinic located on Jhangi Wala Road was functioning without registration with the PHC.
According to a statement issued by the commission, the owner, Dr Zia Moeen, had registered a clinic of general physician and not a drug rehabilitation centre.
Its administration had kept 16 people in subhuman living conditions, exposing them to risks of infectious diseases.
The inmates were reportedly subjected to torture, while their relatives were given an impression of treatment and rehabilitation. Neither any qualified psychiatrist, psychologist, medical expert, nor paramedical staff was present to treat the patients. Besides the non-availability of proper medicines, expired medicines were being given.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2022.