In effort to combat narcotics, Pakistan to conduct National Drug Survey after 11 years

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday approved holding a fresh National Drug Survey after a gap of 11 years, the Ministry of Narcotics Control confirmed, vowing that the exercise would help effectively combat the menace of narcotics across the country. 
Pakistan’s government conducted the last drug survey in 2012-13 which revealed that approximately six percent of the population – or 6.7 million people – had used a substance other than alcohol and tobacco in the preceding year.
The fresh survey will gather reliable information on the extent to which the Pakistani population is using drugs and facing related disorders.
“The National Drug Survey will be conducted in the country after 11 years,” Federal Minister for Narcotics Control and Interior Minister Naqvi was quoted as saying in a statement by the narcotics control ministry.
“It is very important that the drug survey should be comprehensive and accurate.”
The minister tasked authorities to finalize matters related to the survey within 15 days, stressing that data on drug users should be collected from homes, educational institutions and also slums.
Naqvi directed the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to jointly formulate a strategy, including the nature of the data required, the sample format and also the timeline for conducting the survey.
The minister vowed that authorities will not compromise on the issue of drugs as it concerns the nation’s future, adding that comprehensive decision-making related to narcotics would only be possible if the survey results were authentic.
“International development organizations should also be contacted for their cooperation in conducting the survey,” Naqvi was quoted as saying. 
Earlier in March, Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) said it achieved a “monumental victory” in the battle against drug trafficking by intercepting the largest consignment of methamphetamine, popularly called “ice” in the South Asian country’s history.
ANF and Pakistan Coast Guard personnel have also lost their lives in land and sea operations against narcotics traffickers in numerous operations over the years.