Drug addicts can commonly be seen injecting themselves with drugs outside shrines, sitting at bus stands and in most green belts scattered throughout the city.
Recently an Istiqlalabad resident Inamul Huq killed two of his younger brothers for refusing to let go of their drug habit.
Asim and Alam Sher had been long time users of heroin and when they failed to quit Inam slit their throats.
Akbar Abbas, the uncle of the deceased boys said that the two boys often stole to pay for drugs and Inam often quarreled with his brothers over their addiction. “He was wrong to do what he did, the way to deal with addiction is not to get rid of the addict but help him get rid of the addiction,” Abbas said, adding that Inam was unwilling to forgive his brothers for stealing from him.
“He wasn’t their enemy but he reacted to their condition and killed them,” he said.
Muhammad Khan, the boys’ grandfather said that society often refused to accept drug addicts but they seldom realised what the addict went through. “We cannot judge the addict because we don’t know what it is like to be in their shoes, they also know that they have become a burden but there are no health facilities for poor people to seek help from their drug addiction,” he said.
“The government needs to offer rehabilitation for such people, because there are thousands of drug users in this country and they often hail from very poor backgrounds,” Khan said, adding that dozens of people overdosed outside buildings and people didn’t even realise they were dead until much later.
Muhammad Azal, a 14-year-old addict said “death is far better than this life, I cannot stop myself.
I have often asked my mother to poison me and end her problems because there is no hospital or doctor willing to help me.”
On the other hand medical experts lay stress on bringing positive changes in the addict’s life that encourages them to seek treatment for their addiction. Sialkot special medicine clinic in charge Dr Sikandar Warraich said “we need to stop hating the addict and redirect that anger towards the drugs that are enslaving them. Drugs and illegal substances need to be checked strictly by the authorities and addicts need to be rehabilitated into society after undergoing medical treatment.”
The government needs to step in and address the crucial issue of drug abuse among both urban and rural youth in Pakistan.
Medical treatment and rehabilitation facilities need to be established at the grass root level to treat the expanding numbers of drug addicts in the district.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2010.
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