Only 2pc students in Islamabad are drug addicts

ISLAMABAD: While Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Afridi has claimed 75 percent female students in elite Islamabad school use crystal methamphetamine (ice), an assessment by the Capital police says the number could not be more than 2 percent.

While addressing an event on Tuesday, Afridi stated that 75 percent of female students and 45 percent of male students, including from well-known educational institutions, have been found in a survey to be taking the drug. However sources in the Capital police said the number is hugely exaggerated as an assessment by Islamabad police found less than 2 percent male and female students to be hardcore drug addicts. The minister’s claims have also been aggressively denied by administration of elite schools, and experts working in the area of drug abuse.

According to official data by Islamabad police, a total of 1.065kg Ice has been confiscated during this entire year from drug smugglers active around the educational institutions. Talking to The News, the Inspector General (IG) Police Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan who has launched awar against drugs in Islamabad ever since assuming the charge last month, did not comment on number of addicts in schools but stressed that the issue is very serious which needs urgent attention of all segments of society.

“I am committed to making Islamabad drug free and we have zero tolerance policy when it comes to criminals involved in drug business,” Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said. The IGP had already consulted journalists, civil society leaders, private school administrators to form a comprehensive strategy to eradicate drug culture from Islamabad schools. He said the police have arrested more than 425 accused in drug related cases and recovered drugs worth millions since assuming his office in the first week of November.

According to police data, a total of 82 cases have been registered against the accused involved in drug trade in educational institutions during last one year. In action against drugs in educational institutions, the police have arrested 90 accused and recovered 44.76kg hashish, 7.218kg heroin, 2.02kg opium, 1.27kg cocaine, 1.065kg Ice and 13 bottles of liquor.

The IGP said he needs support of parents and teachers in his war against drugs in school as vigilance on their part was imperative to rid the future generation of this menace. On the other hand, Dr Sadaqat Ali, CEO of Willing Ways and Sadaqat Clinic who runs five drug rehabilitation centres in Punjab and Sindh outrightly rejected the minister’s figures of ice or drug addicts in schools calling the figure fabricated and highly exaggerated.

Dr Sadaqat who has treated thousands of drug abuse victims during last 40 years says at school level drug addiction is almost negligible. He said use of Ice below the age of 15 is out of question. “I have treated hundreds of Ice patients but none was under the age of 15,” he said adding that most of Ice victims come from KP.

As per Dr Sadaqat’s assessment students using even cigarette under the age of 12 could not be more than 1 percent. He said less than 4 percent students between the age of 12 and 15 could be using cigarettes and hashish.

He said in Pakistan drug problem increases with the people’s age. “The users of Ice in Pakistan are normally between the age 30 and 45 as it is very expensive drug,” he said. He said Sadaqt Clinic surveyed a Lahore University which was notorious for drug use but even in that university only 16 percent students were hashish users and only 4 percent were drug addicts.

However, Dr Sadaqat said the issue of drug use in school is serious and government must take measures to curb the practice. The administrator of elite schools also deny the existence of huge number of drug addicts in their schools.

“Not even 1 percent students of our schools are drug users or even smokers,” said Muhammad Anis, head of Human Resource at Froebel’s International School. The elite school is the only institution in the Capital which has introduced dope tests for its employees to ensure there is no drug user among the teachers and other employees of the school. “We are in the forefront of war against drugs and every year we observe a whole week to create awareness against the drug use,” Anis said.

Despite repeated contacts for last two days, minister of state for interior did not respond to The News questions about the source of his data. However most people believe the figure came from a three-year-old survey conducted by an NGO, South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) and shared with Senate Standing Committee on Interior.

According to NGO report 44 to 53 percent students of large private schools in the federal capital were addicted to various kinds of drugs. However the report was immediately rejected by the then Minister of Capital Administration and Development (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chauhdry and his subordinate education bodies of the capital. The private schools had also rejected the study terming it “dubious” and “outlandish” as the methodology and data was not shared with anyone.

But talking to The News Dr Maria Sultan, Director General of SASSI defended the study. “We stand by our report and that it is alarming and action must be taken to readdress the challenges we face with regard to the war against drugs,” she said.

Maria said 400 students of 44 schools were surveyed for the study which was just a pilot study as the main emphasis of SASSI was Narco Jehad and drug trade from Afghanistan. She said the sample size could be too small for about 40,000 students of Islamabad but the purpose of the study was to create awareness among policymakers about the magnitude of the problem. She said dope testing should be mandatory in private schools to know the extent of the problem.