A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the rise of drug addiction in the country especially in the educational institutions, with around 6.9 million people being addicted to drugs and there is no place for treatment of around 2 million drug addicts in the country.
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control was held under the chairmanship of Senator Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry.
ANF​​ officials told the committee that only one rehabilitation center has been set up in Pakistan in Sukkur in the last two years. He said that at present the government has four rehabilitation centers for the treatment of drug addicts, one of which is in Islamabad while the other three are in Sindh. Rehab centers in Sindh are funded by the government of Sindh and for the rehabilitation center in Islamabad, funding is provided by ANF.
Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control, Kaleem Imam, admitted that there is a shortage of rehabilitation centers in the country and the existing ones are not up to standard. He said that parliamentarians’ help is needed to set up more rehabilitation centers as well as to control this menace in the country.
The Chairman of the Committee expressed concern that the scourge of drug addiction was on the rise in the country especially in educational institutions. He said concerted efforts are needed to overcome this menace in the country.
When asked about the rehabilitation center set up in the country by Senator Behramand Khan Tangi in the last two years, ANF officials said that only one rehabilitation center has been set up in the last two years. On this, the committee members expressed serious concerns.
Behramand Khan Tangi also pointed out fake rehabilitation centers in the country and stated that fake rehabilitation centers are being set up in Charsadda. He demanded that action should be taken against these fake rehab centers. On which the Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control assured the committee that operation would be conducted against fake centers in Charsadda. The chairman of the committee ordered to conduct an operation against the fake rehabilitation center and submit a detailed report to the committee.
ANF ​​officials briefed the committee on the organization’s performance and the problems it faces. They said the ANF has a severe shortage of manpower and funds. The total number of ANF employees is 3,076, according to which there is only one official for 125,000 people. He said that if funds and manpower are provided then the performance of the organization can be further improved.
Behramand Khan Tangi said that if they ask for better results from ANF, resources are needed to be provided.
Senator Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar said that they would extend all support to ANF in whatever problems the organization has so that this menace can be eradicated.
ANF officials said that 11,972 youths are working in educational institutions across the country for raising awareness to save the people from this menace. The chairman of the committee said that about 6.9 million people in the country are addicted to drugs. This number is very low and add more youngsters to it for raising awareness. He said that they can provide assistance in this regard.
The Secretary said that the federation and the provinces need to work together to overcome this problem. The chairman of the committee told the Secretary that if a proposal in this regard is brought before the committee, they will bring a resolution in the house in this regard.
Some amendments were made by the ANF in the Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Act 2021 presented to the committee by Senator Shahadat Awan which was unanimously approved. According to the proposed amendment, an officer below the rank of ASI will not be able to search, seize and arrest at public places.
Briefing about the budget of ANF, the Director Budget, and Accounts, ANF said that there has been a shortfall of Rs. 414 million in the current financial year. He said that the budget of ANF for the financial year 2020-21 was Rs. 2,751.722 million while the demand of the organization for the financial year 2021-22 was Rs. 3,793 million, out of which Rs. 3,378.159 million was provided. The official said that after 2019, receiving money from donors has also stopped. At present, the agency is relying on 99 percent of government funds only. The chairman of the committee said that the budget should be prepared now and send recommendations to the committee so that steps can be taken for the betterment of the institution in time.
The Director Accounts told the committee that the organization has currently three helicopters provided by the UK, one of which is non-operational, while the other two helicopters need to be overhauled. After which the two helicopters will be useful for another ten years.
In order to set up rehabilitation centers in the country and eradicate the scourge of drugs, the chairman of the committee sent letters to the health departments and social welfare centers of all the provinces and directed them to hold a joint meeting on the issue. He also asked for details at the next meeting regarding pending appeals.
Dost Mohammad Khan, Behramand Khan Tangi, Shahadat Awan, Jam Mehtab Hussain, and Prof Sajid Mir attended the committee meeting while Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control Kaleem Imam, Ministry of Law, and ANF officials also attended the meeting.
This is because of Prime Minister Imran Khan