Ijaz Shah urges citizens to play role in war against drugs

Federal Minister for Narcotics Control, Brig (R) Ijaz Ahmad Shah Wednesday chaired the meeting on devising the strategy for Mass Awareness Campaign against drug abuse under Anti Narcotics policy of reducing drug demand and supply.

The Federal Minister said the entire youth is under threat due to the increasing trend of drug consumption in society.

Brig (R) Ijaz was of the view that each and every citizen of the country is a stakeholder and must play his role in eradicating this menace from society. He further emphasised the fact that the Narcotics Control Ministry and the Anti Narcotics Force, both need cooperation from every segment of society to create awareness amongst the masses and make them realize the cons of drug consumption and the deadly consequences that might follow.

"We need to focus on prevention in order to reduce demand" the minister added.

Federal Secretary for Narcotics Control, Capt (R) Akbar Hussain Durrani shared detailed information about the policy of the Ministry to combat drugs. He said that we need to save our youth and work actively on creating awareness to stop them from falling prey to drugs.

The Federal Secretary took feedback from each participant of the meeting and it was collectively decided to take multi-level approach in order to ensure maximum reach and disseminate information to every affected segment of the society. Measures to increase the reach of the Zindagi App and helpline of the Narcotics Control Ministry were also discussed and finalized.

The participants included Secretary Information Ministry, Shahera Shahid, DG Radio Ambreen Jan, DG Internal Publicity, Manzoor Ali Memon, DG External Publicity Abid Saeed, Secretary Federal Board, Representatives from PEMRA, PNCA, APP, PTV, HEC Private Education Sector, Health Consultants, Mental Health Experts, Social Media Experts and other relevant officers.