Editorial :
The curse of narcotics has ruined our society. Thousands of young people fell prey to the curse of heroin during the last four decades in Balochistan, Pakistan’s least developed province. In Quetta, it is very difficult to walk on Jinnah Road because of the young heroin addicts begging and snatching things on the roadside.Â
First, they (addicts) beg and then try to snatch anything from mobiles to watches and purses from women. Such incidents have frequently taken a place with addicts snatching purses, mobiles, etc, and sneaking into the main city nullah, which snakes through Quetta’s high-security zone.
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This situation prompted the Quetta police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to launch an operation in the main nullah the other day. CTD and police claimed to have killed eight alleged drug peddlers during an exchange of fire. This was for the first time that police and CTD conducted such a targeted operation.
Fate of thousands of addicts is still shrouded in mystery
However, the fate of thousands of young addicts still shrouds in mystery as the government is yet to make a plan for their complete rehabilitation. The challenge for the government is to stop the narcotics smuggling from Afghanistan and rehabilitate the addicts.
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Officially an awareness campaign on social media, radio, newspapers, and TV channels should be launched to create awareness among the people about the curse of narcotics. This would be a good initiative to prevent the youth from falling prey to drugs.
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History of heroin dates back to USSR invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
The menace of narcotics in general and heroin, in particular, dates back to the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan at the end of December 1979.
The war in Afghanistan had and has direct impacts on Pakistan in general and Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in particular. It is a common saying that ‘Kalashinkove and Heroin’ culture is the product of the Afghan war, which distorted the true tolerant face of the two provinces.
