ISLAMABAD: Apparently unaware about the exercise already being underway, Federal Interior Minister and Narcotics Control Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday accorded in principle approval to conduct of the National Drug Survey.

“In line with the mission to save the future generations from the menace of drugs, the survey will be conducted after a gap of 11 years,” said an official press release issued after a meeting of the committee on National Drug Survey held at the Interior Ministry with Mr Naqvi in the chair.

Sources told Dawn that Ministry of Narcotics Control, US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had jointly launched the National Drug Use Survey on October 26, 2022, during Shehbaz Sharif’s first stint as prime minister, and the work on the same was still under way.

Shahzain Bugti, who parted ways with the PTI-led coalition government a day before the then opposition’s no-trust motion against Imran Khan, was the minister for narcotics control at that time.

Exercise was launched during PDM government in 2022

However, Thursday’s press release said the survey will collect data on drug users across the country.

The interior minister directed that the survey must be conducted in a transparent and professional manner. He said in addition to households, data should also be collected from educational institutions, slums and other areas.

The minister emphasised the importance of accurate data for informed decision-making about drug prevention.

He reiterated that drug prevention is a national issue, and no compromise will be made on it.

The interior minister said that survey-related matters should be finalised within 15 days and asked ANF and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to jointly work out the methodology, nature of the required data, sample format and timeline for conducting the survey.

He said that international development organisations may also be approached for cooperation in this regard.

The meeting was attended by federal interior secretary, federal secretary for planning, additional secretary for finance, special secretary for health, DG of ANF, and chief statistician.

According to the last National Drug Survey was conducted in 2013, approximately six per cent of the population — 9pc adult males and 2.9pc adult female — or 6.7 million people had used a substance other than alcohol and tobacco in the preceding year.

The exercise, to determine the extent of druge use in the country, was conducted in collaboration with the UNODC, Ministry of Narcotics Control, the INL and other national stakeholders.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024