PAKISTAN’s war on drug trafficking has been ongoing for several years. But the country remains awash in the menace. It rages across boundaries of gender and class, and permeates educational institutions to poison the young. Another gang supplying narcotics through an Islamabad call centre was captured by police in Sialkot. Its modus operandi came to light after delivery boys ferrying illegal substances to customers were accosted; they collected orders of ‘packs’ from the call centre. But the ringleader’s admission — 20 policemen were allegedly on his payroll to protect traffickers — does not surprise. With news of corrupt police personnel — over 200 were exposed in a Punjab Police report last year — being implicated in the drug trade across the province, it is clear that such sporadic action is destined to fail.

We are hardly close to achieving a drug-free environment because the drug cartel and police nexus as well as the political patronage enjoyed by this repulsive market are never addressed. Even the CIA’s largest-ever cocaine seizure last July, during a raid on a Lahore-based international narcotics network that supplied illegal substances in schools and colleges, and smuggled hard drugs, did not force the government to shake off its stupor. Socioeconomic and circumstantial factors make a frustrated youth vulnerable to drug abuse. But the use of methods for drug control that entail criminalising the weaker segments are not the answer. In fact, their failure is destroying families, communities and future generations. Only extensive reforms in the criminal justice system, ensuring an honest security force and fair enforcement of the law can end the supply and demand of narcotics. Without these, this curse will continue, damaging the credibility of institutions. We need drug policies that tackle the involvement of powerful quarters in the illicit drug network. A paradigm shift, not superficial action, will protect the youth.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025