Peshawar, May 08 (ONLINE): The caretaker government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday launched anti-narcotics campaign titled “Drugs Free Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” across the province with the aim to eradicate drug abuse.
In this connection, an awareness walk against drug abuse was organized in provincial capital by excise, taxation and narcotics control department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led by caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan which started from Chief Minister’s House and culminated at Chief Minister’s secretariat Peshawar. Besides provincial caretaker cabinet members Manzoor Afridi, Justice retired Irshad Qaisar, Rehmat Salam Khattak, Sawal Nazeer Advocate, Fazal- E –Elahi, Salma Begum, Senior Officials, representatives of civil society and a large number of students participated in the awareness walk.
Talking to media persons at the end of awareness walk, the chief minister said that the motive behind holding awareness walk was to create awareness among the public particularly youth against drug abuse. He added that under the newly launched anti-narcotics campaign, steps would be taken for the rehabilitation of drug addicts besides steps to be taken for the eradication of source and supply of narcotics while special drives would also be carried out against narcotics in educational institutions of the province so as to safeguard the youth from drug abuse.
The chief minister felicitated the provincial excise department on launching drug free Khyber Pakhtunkhwa campaign and said that similar awareness walks against narcotics would also be carried out in other parts of the province as well. Touching upon the statistics of drug addicts, Muhammad Azam Khan said that, according to a survey 11 percent population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is affected with drug abuse while six percent population of the whole country affected with drug abuse adding that out of total 6.7 million of drugs addicts 22 percent are female drug addicts.
Azam Khan said that the increasing tendency of narcotics’ use among youth is of grave concern and it is the need of the hour to take pragmatic steps at public and private level in order to protect the upcoming generations from drug abuse adding that massive anti-narcotics campaigns are imperative for eradicating drug abuse from province in particular and country in general. Appreciating the role of philanthropists and welfare organizations in rehabilitation of drug addicts, the chief minister said that caretaker government is committed for the rehabilitation of drug addicts and to root out the menace of drug abuse. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister made an appeal to parents and teachers to play their important role in keeping the young lot safe and free of drug abuse.
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