Quetta drug addict narrates his ordeal
Matiullah Khan :
“Family and friends abandoned me”, Rehmatullah Wahidi, who smokes heroin says. Mr. Wahidi is admitted to a drug rehabilitation center in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. “After becoming addict, all abandoned me”, he lamented.
Dozens of heroin addicts are admitted at a drug rehabilitation in the outskirts of Quetta. Most of them are heroin addicts. “Very few quit addiction as most of them start addiction after rehabilitation”, Fazal Noorzai, the head of the drug rehabilitation said.
“I used to smoke heroin with friends occasionally”, Wahidi who seemed to be in his early 40s said. He had done his master’s in biochemistry from the University of Balochistan. Wahidi speaks fluent English and blames society and cultural issues as the main reason behind his addiction.
In Pakistan in general and Balochistan in particular, thousands of youth are the victims of drug addiction. Heroin, hashish, and other drugs are being smuggled from the Afghan restive province of Helmand into Balochistan. Sources in the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) revealed the drug smugglers use 62 unfrequented routes at the border to sneak into Pakistan.
Aqib Nazir Chaudhary, the Brigadier ANF Balochistan said forces were making all possible efforts to eradicate the curse of narcotics from society. “Our soldiers sacrificed their lives to eradicate this curse”, Mr. Chaudhary said.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) seized a huge quantity of narcotics during a drug burning ceremony in Quetta recently. The ANF claimed to have busted smugglers gangs operating in the bordering region with Afghanistan and Iran. Drugs worth trillions of rupees burnt during the ceremony.
Members of civil society and human rights termed creating awareness among the students indispensable to counter the menace of drugs. “This should be part of our curriculum and they should be treated carefully because they can not only harm themselves but they can also harm the cultural norms and society”, Naseebullah Tareen Advocate, a Quetta-based senior lawyer suggested.
In Balochistan, political parties and civil society have also launched a movement against the spread of narcotics. They have staged protest demonstrations in Gwadar, Mastung, and other parts of the province to create awareness among the people about this menace and mount pressure on the government. During the last four decades, thousands of youngsters have fallen prey to the menace of drugs in Balochistan.
“Easy availability of drugs is also one of the main reasons behind the increasing number of addicts”, Muhammad Asif Reki Advocate, the former president of Quetta Bar Association (QBA) concluded.
Poor addicts and their family members cannot afford the high fees of private rehabilitation centers. The government is yet to establish a better rehabilitation center to treat drug addicts.
Quetta drug addict narrates his ordeal
