LAHORE: Around 40 drug addicts, some of them HIV positive, escaped from the Roshan Ghar Rehabilitation Centre, Raiwind allegedly because of negligence and mismanagement of the rehab facility’s administration.

An official says a total 90 addicts picked by health officials from various city areas were kept in the rehab centre. Most of them were hooked on drugs like ice, heroin, charas, opium etc.

He says on Friday, the addicts turned violent, broke furniture and windows of the building and 40 of them fled the facility after damaging its iron gate.

Sources say only two policemen deployed for the security duty at the rehab centre were unable to control the violent addicts.

On being informed of the incident, the administration immediately called police to overpower the remaining addicts.

Particularly, the escape of the drug users carrying AIDs set alarm bells ringing for the health department and other authorities as they may transmit and spread the disease.

The 110-bed facility was converted from a ‘Beggars’ Home’ to drug rehab centre under a scheme launched by the Punjab government to rehabilitate 10,000 drug addicts in Lahore.

The specialised healthcare and medical education, social welfare and the police departments have been assigned the charge of financial, administrative and security affairs of the drug rehab.

The official says Roshan Ghar was affiliated with the Jinnah Hospital Lahore to ensure treatment and rehabilitation of the addicts brought there.The incident took place a few days after caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the rehab centre and inspected the facilities being provided for the recovery of individuals struggling with drug addiction.

During the visit, Mr Naqvi had stressed the need to enhance the rehabilitation and treatment services for drug addicts all over the province and ordered secretaries of social welfare and health departments to establish more such centres for rehabilitation of thousands of others living on footpaths miserably in the provincial capital.

Caretaker Punjab Health Minister Prof Dr Javed Akram confirmed the incident saying that some of the escaped drug addicts have been traced with the help of police and other departments.

He says the remaining 50 drug addicts have been shifted to the Institute of Mental Health Sciences and other centres where they were being kept in high security.

The minister says managing the chronic drug addicts during their recovery period is a tough job as during the treatment powerful changes occur in their mind and body because of withdrawal.

Prof Akram says the incident highlights the need to review the security measures at drug rehabs and the treatment process of chronic addicts.

“I would reiterate my support for the rehabilitation programme for the drug addicts as the addiction has become one of the major threat to the future of our young generation,” the health minister says, adding that the caretaker government has resolved to continue the scheme at all cost.

He says the police and the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) should gear up efforts to break the drugs supply chain linked to other provinces.

The arrest of big drug dealers and suppliers and handing down punishments to them by courts was the only way to eliminate such networks, he adds.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023