Use of Narcotics in Pakistan: Situation Analysis and Way Forward

Abstract

The use of narcotics in Pakistan is mainly looked at as if it is something isolated from the political games that are played at regional and global levels. This research is partially an attempt to explain why this could not be the case. It looks at the connections between regional and global divisions of power relationships to set stage for understanding the flaws in our conception of the menace of drugs and their proliferation in our society at certain moments in our history. The role of shadow economy in this context has also remained under researched. This paper attempted to address these gaps in knowledge that mislead, misdirect our understanding and conception of drugs and their use, as well as affecting our effectively reacting to these social problematics. The conclusions drawn are the way forward for our policy making apparatuses. Pakistan is signatory to a number of bilateral and multilateral pacts and treaties on narcotics control. It also has vibrant national anti-narcotics and illicit drugs prevention policies and various task forces to deal with the menace of use and abuse of banned substances like National Anti-Narcotics Council (NANC), Ministry of Narcotics Control, Inter-Agency Task Force, Anti-Narcotics Force, National Anti-Narcotics Policy. Despite all these efforts, use and abuse of drugs is on the rise. In the present international scenario, especially the FATF related policies, international pressure and procedures, use of narcotics is no longer an isolated incident but rather part of a very huge ensemble of problems for Pakistan to deal with. Legally, there are no barriers to going after the complete eradication of the narcotics in Pakistan. In other words, the problem is not having the required legal and administrative cover to prevent the use, sale, and import of narcotics in Pakistan. There is plenty of cover available to drug enforcement agencies but still the menace of drug control is on the rise. This gives rise to many problematics. Why is it the case that with so much international cooperation the menace of illicit drugs is on the rise? Could this be the result of what international relations theorists refer to as “the shadow economy” which fuels this massive inflow of drugs, appropriately labelled as “Afghan opiates,” in Pakistan? What are the bottlenecks that prevent implementation of narcotics control policies? Are there other factors that hamper effective implementation of avowed national commitment against the use and abuse of narcotics in Pakistan? Is shadow economy, that the world has failed to harness, something that Pakistan can tackle with its limited resources? Or are there any capacity issues and double-dealings that leave the strongly worded national commitment against banned substances in the lurch? Answers to these pressing questions have been sought in this paper.