Province-wide drugs-purge launched

'Equal attention must be paid to production as well as supply and use chain,' minister says

PESHAWAR:

Caretaker Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Labour, Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Haji Manzoor Khan Afridi has launched a crackdown on drugs across the province, especially educational institutes, saying that the students and youth are the future of this country and will be protected at all costs.

“In order to rid the society of drugs, especially ice, equal attention must be paid to production as well as supply and use chain,” the minister said while interacting with the officers during his visit to the Narcotics Control Wing (NCW) of the Directorate General of Excise and Taxation here on Saturday.

He directed the officers to submit a detailed report on drugs as well as the crackdown. The minister also made it clear to them that freeing the society, especially the students and general youth, of drugs, was one of the top priorities of the caretaker set-up.

He directed making the anti-narcotics campaign more effective and to speed up intelligence and target-based operations against drug manufacturers, suppliers, peddlers and dealers.

Afridi also made a detailed inspection of the narcotics detectors, video scopes, densitometers and other modern equipment and supplies provided by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. He took keen interest in the sophisticated equipment, urging its best utilisation for maximum outcome in the larger national interest.

He said, “Educational institutes are the primary target of drug peddlers across the province.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2023.