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PESHAWAR, Jan 30 (APP):Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Thursday announced the inclusion of drug rehabilitation treatment under the Sehat Card Scheme and directed officials to prepare a proposal for provincial cabinet approval.
He was chairing the first meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Drug Control here, attended by provincial cabinet members, including Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman, Faisal Tarakai, and Syed Qasim Ali Shah, along with the Chief Secretary, officials from the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), police, and other relevant departments.
The meeting also decided to intensify anti-narcotics operations across the province. Police have been instructed to launch a large-scale crackdown on drug dealers, and officials failing to take effective action will be removed from their positions, said an official communique.
A special task force meeting will be held in 15 days to review the progress of these operations in all districts.
Expressing concern over poppy cultivation in some areas of the province, the meeting devised a plan to eradicate it.
A committee has been formed to hold discussions with farmers within a week and submit a report to the Chief Minister. The government will provide alternative crop seeds to encourage farmers to switch to legal cultivation.
The Chief Minister emphasized that those involved in the drug trade will be dealt with strictly and assured that there will be no leniency for individuals responsible for destroying lives through addiction.
He directed authorities to expand anti-drug operations in all districts and praised the ongoing drug rehabilitation program in Peshawar, recommending that addicts from other districts also be transferred to rehabilitation centers in Peshawar. He also ordered special measures for rehabilitating addicts currently imprisoned.
During the meeting, officials provided a detailed briefing on the Drug-Free Peshawar campaign, which has resulted in three heroin-mixing factories being shut down in Peshawar.
Reports also highlighted that in Khyber district, 200 kanals; Mohmand, 112 kanals; Swabi, 45 kanals; and Mansehra, 13 kanals of poppy crops have been destroyed.
In 2024 alone, authorities have incinerated 1,141 kg of various narcotics, worth PKR 2 billion in the international market. The Excise Department has seized 2,952 kg of cannabis, 105 kg of heroin, 157 kg of opium, 37 kg of crystal meth (ice), and 248 liters of alcohol since June 2024, arresting 238 individuals involved in drug trafficking.
Special awareness campaigns have been launched in educational institutions, yielding positive results. Narcotics control committees have been established in every university, and the third phase of the Drug-Free Peshawar campaign aims to rehabilitate 2,000 more drug addicts after successfully treating 2,400 addicts in the first two phases.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) also briefed the meeting on its operations, reporting an 81 percent conviction rate in drug-related cases last year. Additionally, ANF KP arrested 242 Pakistani and six foreign nationals for drug smuggling.
The CM praised the ANF’s efforts and reiterated the government’s commitment to eliminating drugs from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.