The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has raised serious concerns about the increasing involvement of students in drug trafficking, warning that anti-national elements are exploiting young people in educational institutions for their illicit activities.
At a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, ANF Director Syed Sijjeel Haider highlighted the grave threat posed by the use of children and women in drug smuggling, which undermines the country’s social, moral, and economic integrity.
“Anti-national elements are not only targeting college and university students but are also involving schoolchildren in this nefarious scheme,” Haider stated.
He added that many young individuals who travel abroad for education and employment are being exploited as drug carriers, which is straining diplomatic relations and damaging the country’s international reputation.
Haider shared the 2024 statistics from ANF’s operations, revealing that 113,798 kilograms of drugs were seized, with an estimated international market value of $6.5 billion. The operations also led to the arrest of 1,406 individuals, including 116 women and 44 foreign nationals. Tragically, three ANF personnel lost their lives in the line of duty.
In efforts to combat drug addiction, Haider reported that 2,031 addicts were rehabilitated this year at ANF-run centers in Karachi, where they are now living drug-free lives.
Additionally, Haider mentioned that ANF conducted 5,500 awareness sessions in schools, colleges, and universities as part of its ongoing campaign against drug abuse.
Notable operations included the seizure of 88 kilograms of hashish and 34 kilograms of opium near Kot Abdul Malik, Lahore, on August 4; 52 kilograms of opium and 61 kilograms of hashish near the Northern Bypass in Peshawar on August 6; and 30 kilograms of ice in Karachi on August 10.
Operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa included the recovery of 24 kilograms of hashish and ice in Quetta on August 15, 40 kilograms of hashish near Hub on August 14, and 52 kilograms of heroin and 51 kilograms of morphine in Chaman on August 24. Additionally, 14 kilograms of opium and 45 kilograms of hashish were seized near Islamabad on August 20, and 17 kilograms of opium and 13 kilograms of hashish were confiscated at the Motray Toll Plaza on September 4.
Haider emphasized that drug interdiction remains a top priority for ANF, particularly as seizures of ice, which is largely produced in neighboring countries, have surged from two and a half tons in 2017 to nearly 30 tons in 2023.
