KARACHI: Sindh Rangers Director General Major General Iftikhar Hassan Chaudhry on Monday said youngsters even from ideal families are getting addicted to synthetic drugs like ecstasy and ice (crystal methamphetamine) at educational institutions, but the paramilitary force and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) can help them get rid of their dependence on illicit drugs.

“Youngsters from not only abusive but even from good and ideal families can get addicted to drugs. It’s the responsibility of their friends to help them, and in this regard, the Rangers and ANF can be approached. I assure you, we won’t treat them like criminals. Instead, we’ll help them get rid of the addiction,” Chaudhry said while addressing students at the Ojha campus of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).

DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Saeed Quraishy, pro vice chancellors Prof Nusrat Shah and Prof Kartar Dawani, Department of Psychiatry head Brigadier Shoaib Ahmed, and teachers and students also attended the seminar in connection with International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Students of the Institute of Behavioural Sciences also presented an informative skit on the occasion.

The Rangers chief said that not every youngster is fortunate enough to have friendly parents, so it is the responsibility of their friends, classmates and even teachers to help them seek help in case of drug abuse, adding that youngsters are not only getting addicted to drugs but also to social media, which is another serious cause for concern.

Claiming that Karachi is now a relatively peaceful city with a much lower incidence of crime, he said the perception of Karachi as a crime-infested and violent city is not being improved, otherwise cities like London and New York record many times more crimes than Karachi.

He maintained that changes in technology are taking place so rapidly that it cannot be said with certainty what our children’s livelihood will be in the next 20 years or what kind of jobs will be available in the future.

Seventy per cent of the existing jobs will be lost, replaced by new jobs and businesses, so there is a need for young people to adapt to traditional education as well as to the rapidly changing technology. “We will be far behind the rest of the world, and most of our doctors, engineers and journalists will be out of work if they fail to learn new technologies that are undergoing complete transformation every 18 months.”

Chaudhry said that in such a fast-paced world, where artificial intelligence is emerging as a challenge to the human mind, there is not only no room for drugs but also less space for social media, because it is also a type of addiction.

“Don’t skip it completely, but at least limit its usage, because the world is changing so rapidly”, he said, adding that today’s students will fail to find livelihood if they do not develop new skills according to the rapidly changing technology. “Within five years not only will their paths of development be blocked but they will also lag far behind.”

He said educational institutions determine the character-building and bright future of nations, especially the youth’s, and the role of teachers in this regard is very important. He highlighted the growing trend of drug addiction at educational institutions, saying that educational institutes pave the way for the country’s development. “Students should play a positive role in the development of the country and eradicate the use of drugs from society with constructive thinking, keeping in view their roles and abilities.”

Responding to queries from the faculty and the students, the Rangers DG said the law and order situation is not as bad as its perception is, adding that a lot more robberies and other crimes are committed in London and New York compared to Karachi, but they are still considered safe and peaceful cities.

“Over 800 incidents of acid-throwing were reported in London in a year while 10,000 people were stabbed, but it’s still considered a safe city, while in Pakistan only a few cases of acid-throwing were reported and a documentary was made on it — which was even awarded

Appreciating the role of doctors and health workers in the fight against Covid and their services as front-line workers, he said that along with the law-enforcement agencies, people have also played an important role in the restoration of law and order in Karachi and eradicating terrorism.

“Now we believe that people from all walks of life, along with the administration and the law-enforcement agencies, will also join hands in ridding Sindh, especially Karachi, of the scourge of drugs.”