MIANWALI, Feb 2: The foreign aid to Pakistani NGOs in future will be routed through the Anti-narcotics Force in order to treat and rehabilitate the addicts. ANF Punjab Commander Brig Babar Idrees said this while presiding over District Anti-narcotics Committee meeting here on Thursday.

He said more than four million people in the country had become addicted to various drugs, particularly heroin, and the government was initiating serious steps for their treatment at the district and tehsil levels.

Brig Babar said the Anti-narcotics Board (ANB) was established in 1956, while the ANF was set up in 1995 with its headquarters at Rawalpindi. The force had 56 per cent permanent employees with five regions.

He said the main duty of the ANF was to provide intelligence to check the transportation and sale of narcotics.

He called upon the police and district administration to treat heroin addicts as patients and not criminals, and added they deserved sympathies of the society.

Brig Babar assured the ANF was ready to set up a police station in the city if the district government provided land and it was also ready to arrest big smugglers if they were pointed out.

Central Jail superintendent said on the occasion that there were more than 300 addicts in the jail who needed treatment.

Dr Liaqat said a special ward had been set up in the DHQ hospital where 50 patients would be treated at a time and special security and recreation arrangements had been made for them including indoor games, Tv viewing and religious education. He said that Rs50,000 would be spent on each patient’s one-month treatment.