ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Narcotic Control Shahzain Bugti has said that establishing rehabilitation centres for drug addicts was the responsibility of the provincial governments following the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment.

He was briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control, which held its meeting under the chairmanship of Senator Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry here on Monday. He said that the federal government is in close contact with all the federation units in this connection. He added that recently he held a meeting with Sindh chief minister who has assured that the Sindh government will provide land and building for rehabilitation centres.

The minister said it was our prime target to save the young generation from the curse of narcotics and the entire nation has to add its share in the war against narcotics.

Responding to a question regarding a separate law for dealing with drugs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the minister said that the federal government had taken up the matter with the provincial government and at present, the matter is in the Supreme Court.

The Chairman Committee said that since the matter is in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, therefore, the forum should wait for the judgment.

The committee was informed that 141 high-profile drug trafficking cases were pending in various courts. The committee directed the Ministry of Narcotics Control to provide the details of all the under-trial drug cases in the trial courts.

The minister said that 10,000 persons would be recruited in the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to improve the performance of the department by discouraging the scourge of drugs. He informed that there were only 50 staffers in the ANF in 11 districts of South Punjab.

The minister said, “We would put proposal before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for recruitment of 10,000 staff” further adding he hoped that he would get permission soon. Unfortunately, the scourge of drugs is spreading in educational institutes, said the minister, adding that the department would organize awareness sessions in collaboration with the Punjab government. He remarked, “We need to protect our young generation from the menace of drugs.”

Responding to a question, he observed that the department had not enough manpower when compared to the other agencies. Currently, a total of 3,600 staffers were working in the department, he informed and said the performance would be further improved with the new recruitment.

The panel was informed by the ANF officials that the department was constructing a treatment centre for drug addicts in the federal capital which would be completed within the next few months. The officials said that during 2021-22 budgets, four developmental projects were approved but the government did not provide the funds as a result the projects could not be started.