Students and drug addiction

The magnitude of drug abuse among students in Karachi continues to get worse, despite intervention efforts by the government and social welfare groups. While reliable data is hard to come by due to taboos around the subject, a 2024 survey by the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board found that 44% of university and college students were engaged in drug use, with one in five schoolchildren having experimented with drugs at least once. Anecdotal evidence from several sources suggests the numbers have gotten worse since then.

Part of the problem is also the sheer scale of drug abuse in the country, which recent events have shown was severely underestimated. The case of alleged cocaine queenpin Anmol alias Pinky is just one example. Her extensive network allegedly supplied drugs to affluent areas, including Defence and Clifton, and counted students among her customers. In fact, one of her associates was reportedly peddling narcotics on campuses in posh areas.

While arrests are necessary, the only solution to drug abuse is prevention and rehabilitation. The recent anti-drug policy formulated by Karachi's South Zone police in collaboration with 22 universities and schools provides a promising framework. Built on prevention, early intervention, parental engagement and rehabilitation, the policy mandates the formation of anti-drug committees comprising teachers, parents and law enforcers. Educational institutions must now implement regular awareness seminars, age-appropriate curricula on substance abuse, and, with parental consent, reasonable drug-screening programmes.

However, a policy on paper is insufficient. The Campus Security and Substance Abuse Watch Force, comprising 50 police personnel, must be expanded and properly trained. Law enforcement must also crack down on online drug sales, which have become a preferred channel for reaching students. Ultimately, schools, families and police must work as a single unit - because every student lost to addiction is a future we cannot afford to lose.