PESHAWAR: The district administration of Peshawar is in a fix over the presence of 63 rehabilitated drug addicts belonging to Punjab as their families and provincial government have not responded to the requests by the relevant officials to take them back.

The drugs addicts, who have recently completed their three months rehabilitation course at the government expenses, currently stay at different rehabilitation centres of the provincial capital.

A statement issued here said that Peshawar district administration tried to contact their families time and again, however, received no response from them.

Similarly, the administration also tried to contact the Punjab government regarding repatriation of the rehabilitated drug addicts through social welfare department and office of Peshawar commissioner but no avail.

The statement said that currently the rehabilitated addicts were a burden on the administration. In case of being freed in Peshawar, they could relapse into drug addict, it added.

It said that a meeting chaired by Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud discussed the issue and expressed concerns over their presence.

The meeting also decided to free them at Rawalpindi Press Club if no response was received from the Punjab government within two days. The administration wants to make space for treatment of 63 more addicts in the rehabilitation centres of provincial capital.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2022