LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a seminar on Drug Addiction and the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicted Individuals at the LCCI.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar presided-over the seminar while Commander Anti-Narcotics Force Brigadier Sikandar Hayat Chaudhry, Ali Murtaza, CEO Bridge Rehabilitation Center Abul Hasan, Assistant Director FIA Zainul Abedin and LCCI EC member Fariha Younis also spoke on the occasion.
LCCI President said that the purpose of this seminar is to make our society free from drugs through the joint efforts of public and private institutions. He said that Anti-Narcotics and other law enforcing agencies have a key role to control drug and various types of addictive substances and take steps to eliminate it completely. “We, as a business community, should play our role in the rehabilitation of drug addicts and awareness among the general public”, he added.
Kashif Anwar said that lack of care and attention of the parents, a person of family attracts towards anti-social elements and addiction. He said that the parents would have to come forward, keep an eye on the children and pay special attention to their social interaction so that they do not fall prey to bad society. He said that if a person becomes depress, there should be no harm in getting treatment from a psychiatrist or a doctor.
The LCCI President said that it is a matter of concern for all of us that our youth are getting addicted to drugs. He said that we used to hear about ICE or such synthetic drugs at college and university level, but now school children are also falling prey to it.
It is very important to remedy this. He said that Anti-Narcotics is very important department whose task is to trace the networks through which drugs are supplied in various forms in the society and arrest the culprits.
He said that just like zero tolerance policy is being followed to end terrorism, there must be no exemption for drug mafias. He said that the people who facilitate drug mafias; they must be punished so that this scourge can be completely eradicated from the society.
Brigadier Sikandar Hayat Chaudhry said that ANF is making untiring efforts to capture and dispose of narcotics. He called for awareness campaign for the rehabilitation of drug addicts and said that the youth should be encouraged to stay away from the scourge of addiction. He said that narcotics are a strategic level epidemic because it is considered an easy way to earn money, so some people are attracted to it.
The speakers said that narcotics are therefore a bigger problem than terrorism because it is a silent killer and a huge threat for the society. They said that the hospitals must be established for drug addicts only.
Fariha Younis said that if one member of the family becomes addicted to drugs, the whole family is affected, so everyone should work together to solve this problem.
Ali Murtaza said that drug addiction is a disease. He said that the families of drug addicts are also in a deep trouble. There is a dire need for their counseling and for the counseling of the parents so that drug addicts can be treated through them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024