Students urged to fight against menace of drugs

An interactive session of the sub-committee of Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control was held with COMSATS faculty and students here on Wednesday.
Seventy-five percent of drugs supplied to the world are produced in Afghanistan while Pakistan, unfortunately, is the gateway. This was stated by Convenor sub-committee on Standing Committee on Narcotics Control, Senator Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum HI (M) (retd), while delivering a talk to the students and faculty of COMSATS University. He said that this has made Pakistan particularly vulnerable and is costing the country its youth.
Senator Lt-Gen Abdul Qayyum (retd) encouraged the students to join hands with various institutions fighting against drug abuse in the country and take responsibility as partners against this menace. He said, "It is important not only to protect ourselves but everyone around us. This is the only way we can fulfil our responsibility to society and work towards its prosperity. Defeating all negative forces that threaten society is imperative to our sustainability."
He assured the students hat he would work towards strengthening legislation against the spread of drugs in Pakistan and that he would also ensure that everyone responsible for its spread is taken to task. He said that he would work towards passage of a bill that would allow educational institutions to take action against all those who use and push drugs on campus. However, he stressed the need for motivation as the best mode of fighting against this menace. He said that working towards a better environment for Pakistani youth is the only way to protect them.
Mubashir Hassan Kazmi, Director Enforcement, Anti-Narcotics Force North, discussing the organisation's role in curbing drugs on campus, stressed the need to look at drug abuse as a social problem that can only be dealt with when society comes together and joins hands. He encouraged the youth to protect themselves and said that in order to be safe it is imperative that they do not use drugs even socially. He said that formulation of drug prevention policies is essential to fight against this intricate network that offers no exit options to those who enter. He added that currently there are no efficient rehabilitation facilities in the country, which is alarming because once narcotics use begins, there is no way out.