Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Muqbil Asks Ulema to Help Tackle Drug Menace

Muqbil Asks  Ulema to Help Tackle Drug Menace

KABUL CITY - The Counternarcotics Ministry is trying to engage religious scholars and prayer leaders in tackling the growing menace of narcotics in Afghanistan, home to nearly a million drug addicts, officials on Saturday.
Addressing a two-day gathering, attended by hundreds of scholars and imams from various provinces in Kabul, Counternarcotics Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbil said Afghanistan was an Islamic country, where drugs and intoxicants were causing serious problems to the people.

Despite several anti-drug campaigns, he said one million people depended on drugs, linking the addiction largely to poppy cultivation.
"The presence of one million drug addicts imposes huge economic expenditure on the country. If an addict spends a dollar a day, the daily expenditure of one million addicts will come to $1 million dollar per day, or $360 million a year.''

He said more than 10,000 hectares of poppies had been destroyed, thousands of bottles of alcoholic beverages seized and dozens of suspects detained this year. The government had initiated many anti-drug drives but the biggest challenge was to create public awareness, he said.

He acknowledged Ulema's positive role in anti-drug campaigns, and urged them to help raise awareness about the dangers of drugs and promote government initiatives in this regard.
One of the participants, Ghulam Jan, said Ulema and prayer leaders could preach to the people on risks of narcotics, as the government alone could not combat the social problem that had tarnished the country's image.

Wolesi Jirga Counternarcotics Commission member Maulvi Shahzada Shahid also urged religious scholars to be more involved in promoting anti-drug drives. He said drugs and imports of alcoholic beverages posed a challenge to the country.

Judicial and security organs were yet to address the issue, he regretted. "Ulema can refurbish the country's image and dangers, if an honest struggle against the phenomenon is launched.''
Over the past decade, there have been efforts to stop the production and smuggling of drugs in the country, but the presence of one million addicts was disturbing, said Timor Shah Ishaqzai, the deputy minister of information and culture. (Pajhwok)