s the menace of narcotics grips the country and the youth are an increasingly easy prey to various kinds of narcotics and psychotropic drugs, especially heroin, morphine, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, the law-enforcement institutions meant to deal with those involved in the illicit trade appear to be apathetic.

The gravity of the situation can well be gauged from the fact that scores of drug addicts can be seen injecting drugs at some of the busiest thoroughfares, parks and markets. Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Quetta, Hyderabad, Sheikhupura, Dera Ghazi Khan and Jhelum have become hotbeds for both narcotics smugglers and drug addicts.

The society need answers to some basic questions in this regard. Why has the law-enforcement mechanism consisting of the police, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), the Excise Department and a host of other agencies become toothless? Why does this mechanism turn a blind eye to the rapidly growing trade of narcotics? Why are law-enforcement agencies so low-spirited in acting against drug peddlers and smugglers? Is the illegal business a major source of income for police and Excise Department officials as alleged?

Also, how can such huge quantities of narcotics be smuggled into Pakistan from Afghanistan and reach every nook and cranny of the country right under the nose of law-enforcement agencies, picketing all traffic arteries of the country?

On one hand, the menace of narcotics is fast spreading across the country. On the other, law enforcement agencies, especially the police and the ANF, are found making apparently false claims with regard to their efforts in dealing with those involved in the illegal trade. More effort apparently goes into shifting the blame for failure than into galvanising action against narcotics dealers.

A senior Karachi-based police officer, requesting anonymity, says that as per the new understanding with the law-enforcement agencies, arresting drug dealers dealing in large quantities of drugs is the prime responsibility of the ANF. However, he says, “if you find so many cities infested with drug addicts, it clearly indicates that the ANF’s performance is not to the mark. It’s lagging behind and looking towards the police to do the work”.

Speaking to the The News on Sunday, former Lahore DIG Investigation Kamran Adil says there is no ambiguity on the subject. “The laws are very clear and the jurisdiction as well as responsibilities, especially for both the police and the ANF, have been clearly defined.” The police cannot deny responsibility, says the DIG, adding: “basically, it’s the police who should apprehend narcotics dealers who provide narcotics to drug addicts.”

Adil says the fault lies with the politicians wishing to politicise the police. He says the desire to rein the police in to use it to achieve political gains has gravely impacted the police’s efficiency to cope with the menace of narcotics.

The police, he says, neither lack resources nor the capability to come down heavy on drug dealers. “However, the focus has shifted from dealing with drug dealers with an iron hand to serving political masters at all costs.” This, according to him, is the major cause for the police’s failure in this regard.

With the passage of time, new synthetic and psychotropic drugs, particularly ice, have been introduced in the market, he says. As drug dealers adopted new ways and means to operate, there was a dire need to introduce new laws.

The government has introduced some amendments in the law. New sections have been introduced in some laws to make them more effective. The Anti-Narcotics Force Act, 1997, and the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997 (CNSA) provide the much-needed substantive, procedural and administrative law on the subject.

The DIG says that the ANF legislation conferred powers of police officers on ANF personnel. It also created statutory links with police-related legislation. Nonetheless, he adds, owing to the perception that policing is a provincial subject and not a concurrent subject as envisioned in Articles 142 and 143 of the Constitution, the provinces have initiated provincial legislation on the subject. For instance, the introduction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CNSA, 2019, has constrained the federal government to lay a constitutional challenge to the enactment (i.e., of the KP CNSA, 2019) before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Ironically, he says, the demand side of the drug trade is usually checked by local law enforcement but not the networks on the supply side. Most of the supply side is pegged in international legal framework that strengthens administrative and prosecutorial regimes.

He says a good development has been the recent amendment that obliges courts to impose maximum punishment in cases where narcotics are sold in or near educational institutions. The repetition of offences has also been checked by binding judges to impose maximum punishment for repeat offenders. Moreover, the new amendments offer new penal and sentencing policies on narcotics, psychotropic substances and controlled substances.

SHO Asad Iqbal says although catching drug addicts is not difficult for the police, all their efforts go in vain when upon being arrested some of them injure themselves with all kinds of sharp objects. When they are taken for treatment to hospitals, many of them escape. “Police find themselves in deep waters if some drug addicts try to kill themselves for not getting their daily drug fix in lock-ups,” he says. “The blame of their death then falls on the police”.

As a result, the police try to avoid keeping addicts in their custody. “Sometimes, police officials have had to provide drugs to the addicts to sustain them,” says Asad.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at ahsanzia155@gmail.com