The Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister on Information, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, has announced that the provincial government will launch a drive for the rehabilitation of drug addicts across the province from 19 July onward.
He stated this in a meeting chaired by the Commissioner of Peshawar Division, Riaz Mehsud, to review the progress of the campaign that is aimed at making Peshawar drug-free. He added that CM Mahmood Khan has called for a meeting on 19 July to initiate a crackdown on drug rings in KP.
Barrister Saif added that Commissioner Mehsud will convene a meeting with the representatives of industrialists and the KP Industry Department today to discuss the creation of employment opportunities for recovered drug addicts.
The attendees of the meeting were apprised that 1,188 drug addicts, including 13 women, have been taken into custody by the authorities since the ‘Drug-Free Peshawar Campaign’ began 50 days ago, and they are being treated at a number of rehabilitation centers.
Additionally, 139 of 143 patients who were diagnosed with HIV AIDS are being treated in Islamabad, and another four of them are being treated at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar.
The attendees were also informed that the concerned authorities have traced the families of 281 drug addicts between the ages of 15 and 51.
Furthermore, it was stated that 700 to 800 drug addicts are still on the streets, and the attendees were told that accommodation facilities are being developed in the rehabilitation centers in KP.
Besides this, awareness seminars will be conducted in universities, colleges, and schools at the end of the summer holidays.
