6.7mn drug addicts in country: NA told

19 Aug, 2014

ISLAMABAD: State Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control, Education, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education Baleeghur Rehman Tuesday said there were 6.7 million drug addicts in the country including 800,000 Heroin addicts as per latest survey of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Responding to a Calling Attention Notice raised by Rida Khan, Zeb Jaffer and Maiza Hameed, he said the government was trying to arrange counselling of students to persuade them desist from the use of drugs.

The federal government in consultation with provinces trying to introduce demerits and harms of drug usage in curricula. Hopefully with such measures the drug use among students would be decreased, he said.

Afghanistan has been declared number one country in poppy cultivation and Hashish production. The United Nation has declared Pakistan as poppy free country.

He said the government was taking possible measures to impede drugs smuggling from Afghanistan.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2014

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