PESHAWAR: Amid the alarming use of narcotics amongst the youth, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government is working on an anti-narcotics bill to combat with usage, manufacturing and trafficking of crystal methamphetamine – an addictive drug.
The proposed bill will be presented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the days to come. Under the present legislation, a minimum of 100gms narcotics needs to be recovered from a dealer for them to be convicted. Taking advantage of the law, seasoned dealers do not carry more than the allowed limit to prevent the fear of being caught.
The proposed bill covers this loophole by specifically mentioning crystal methamphetamine and its other prevalent names such as ‘ice’ and ‘glass’. Reportedly, various sentences and penalties have been categorised for categories such as 1 to 10gms, 10 to 100 gms and more than 100 gms.
As many as 341 dealers have been detained by the police in Peshawar alone and 21gms of the aforementioned drug has been recovered from them. Those arrested were also found selling the drug near educational institutes in the city.
The colourless drug is mostly imported from Afghanistan and Iran and is mostly used by the city elite given its high price which is as much as Rs8000 per gram.
Earlier, State Minister for Interior Shaharyar Afridi also claimed that a survey had indicated that 75 per cent of female students and 45 per cent of male students in Islamabad’s elite schools frequently use drugs.
The federal government has also drafted a bill to outlaw the said drug, which recommends life imprisonment for smugglers and dealers. It further identifies 2,000 users in Peshawar alone.
