Major initiative planned to rehabilitate drug addicts in KP

Major initiative planned to rehabilitate drug addicts in KP

PESHAWAR (APP): A major initiative to treat and rehabilitate drug addicts and help them reintegrate into society is set to be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A meeting chaired by Peshawar division Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud reviewed preparations for the early launch of the campaign and decided to initially start the drive in Peshawar and Khyber.

The meeting was attended via video link by the secretary social welfare, director anti-narcotics, director social welfare, officials of the district administrations of Peshawar and Khyber, the district social welfare officer Peshawar and other relevant officials.

It was decided that all legal and administrative requirements for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts, including the issuance of advertisements, would be completed soon to enable the formal launch of the campaign.

The campaign will be implemented under a public-private partnership. The district administration, police, Excise Department, Anti-Narcotics Department and Civil Defence will conduct joint operations to take drug addicts found on the streets into custody and transfer them to rehabilitation centres for treatment.

To ensure better and more sustainable results, a proposal to extend the treatment period from four months to five months was also discussed.

Teams headed by assistant commissioners will conduct surprise inspections of rehabilitation centres to regularly assess the treatment of patients, food arrangements and other facilities being provided to them.

The social welfare department will be responsible for ensuring the availability of funds and managing expenditures for the campaign.

Addressing the meeting, Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud praised Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s special focus on public welfare and efforts to rid society of the menace of drugs.

He directed the relevant officials to ensure strict implementation of the chief minister’s directives, launch the campaign at the earliest and utilise all available resources to make the initiative successful.