Islamabad Law Review
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ISSN 1992-5018 ISLAMABAD LAW REVIEW Quarterly Research Journal of Faculty of Shariah& Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad Volume 4, Number 1&2, Spring/Summer 2020 Islam. L. Rev. [Vol. 4: 1 & 2, Spring/Summer, 2020] 105 Pakistani laws on the use of narcotics and drug addiction: Need for Reforms Salah Uddin Sami Ur Rahman Abstract The use of narcotic substances and drug addiction are growing at alarming levels in Pakistan. The harsh anti-narcotics laws, which are against the spirit of the Sharia, have failed to contain this mushrooming growth and have instead added to the suffering of drug addicts. Based on the qualitative research carried out in district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), this paper provides for the ineffectiveness of these laws and highlights the challenges in their implementation. The government’s lack of interest to address this issue has also been observed through the absence of medical treatment and rehabilitation facilities for drug addicts. It is suggested that the existing laws should be reformed in favour of addicts and harm reduction programmes should be introduced in the wider interest of the society. Keywords: Pakistan, use of drugs, addiction, KPK, Islamic law 1. Drug Use and Addiction in Pakistan The use of controlled drugs and other narcotic substances and drug addiction are constantly growing problems in Pakistan.1 Despite harsh anti-narcotics laws, the country has witnessed an enormous growth in the number of drug addicts in the last three decades, and today Pakistan stands as one of the most drug- affected countries in the world.2 In the last two decades, injection of cheap drug concoctions and the use of various chemicals with Salah Uddin is Doctorate candidate at Portsmouth University, UK. ۔He could be reached at [email protected] Sami Ur Rahman is an Assistant Professor at the Shari‟ah Academy, International Islamic University Islamabad. He could be reached at [email protected]. 1 Tariq Khosa, „Pakistan‟s Drug Menace‟ Dawn, (Karachi, 17 December 2012). 2 Ghazal Pasha, „Rising trend of substance abuse in Pakistan: a study of sociodemographic profiles of patients admitted to rehabilitation centres‟ (2019) 167 Public Health 34 <doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.10.020> accessed 26 June 2019. 106 Pak. Laws on Narcotics: Need for Reforms liquor, , has become common which on various occasions led to collective deaths. 3 In one reported incident in March 2016, more than 50 people died after consuming spurious liquor in Sindh.4 The use of Methamphetamine „orice‟ has become very popular in the last few years, which results in risky, violent and hostile behaviour among the users.5 The last decade has witnessed an increasing trend in the spread of hepatitis B, C and HIV/AIDS amongst addicts all over the country due to used syringes and needles.6 Such an egregious situation of the problem demands a holitistc intervention on part of the government and thus needs to studied critically. 2. Root cause of the drug use in Pakistan It is generally believed that opium and marijuana were traditionally used as narcotics in Afghanistan7 and by extension in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but drug addiction was never a problem in Pakistan until early 1980s.8 The mass-scale 3 See Hassan Awan, Literature Review of Drug related laws and policies in Pakistan: A comprehensive review of the drug laws, policies and other studies related to drug abuse, the implementation of laws and on ground situation in Pakistan (Society for Sustainable Development 2009). <www.ssd.com.pk/reports/Literature%20Review.pdf> 7 accessed 20 October 2015. 4 Muhammad Hussain Khan and Hanif Samoon, „At least 35 die after consuming spurious liquor in Tando Mohammad Khan‟ Dawn, (Karachi, 22 March 2016). 5 Interview with Arshad Ali, Advocate High Court Peshawar (Swat, 10 July 2016); Hammad Ahmed Hammad and Gahzal Hakani, „Awareness and use of methamphetamine (ICE) among the people of Karachi, Pakistan‟ World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2018) 7 (17) 34. 6 Editorial, „Pakistan: A victim of the destructive effects of the drug use‟ Voice of America (Urdu) (English translation done by the author of the current paper) (Washington DC, 13 December 2014) ; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), „World Drug Report 2015‟ < https://www.unodc.org/wdr2015/> 4 accessed 15 March 2016. 7 Ikarmul Haq, “Pak-Afghan Drug Trade in Historical Perspective” Asian Survey (1996) 36 (10), p. 945. 8 A.Z. Hilali, “Costs & Benefits of Afghan War for Pakistan”, Contemporary South Asia (2002) 11 (3), 291; Yahya Birt, „Being a real man in Islam: Drugs, criminality and the problem of masculinity‟ (Cambridge Mosque Project, 24 December 2014) <http://masud.co.uk/being-a-real- man-in-islam-drugs-criminality-and-the-problem-of-masculinity/> para 9 accessed 13 November 2015. Islam. L. Rev. [Vol. 4: 1 & 2, Spring/Summer, 2020] 107 introduction of drugs into the Pakistani society is linked with two important events. Firstly, when the Afghan refugees arrived in Pakistan in the late 1970s, some wealthy and influential refugees were allegedly involved in the local production and international trade of drugs in collaboration with some elements in the Pakistani establishment, to raise funds for their armed struggle against the former USSR troops in Afghanistan.9 Secondly, after the withdrawal of the USSR troops and the ensuing anarchy, Afghanistan emerged as a major drug producer on the world scale in the 1990s; a major chunk of the drugs originating from Afghanistan, targeting international markets through Pakistan, ends up in the local markets10 thus making access to drugs easy for everyone.11 Widespread poverty and fast-increasing unemployment push many people into psychological stress and anxiety which, coupled with the paucity of social nets, lead them to seek refuge in narcotic drugs and substance.12 Due to lack of access to proper healthcare facilities, poor people use cheap drugs such as opium for various health issues including joint pains, asthma or arthritis which after prolonged use lead to addiction. Many people, especially youth from the financially well-off families, become addicts due to peer pressure or influence or sometimes by misadventures in seeking excitement through trying drugs 9 Dessa K. Bergin-Cico, „War and drugs: The role of military conflict in the development of substance abuse’ (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2015) 108. 10 Safiya Aftab, „Post 2014: The regional drug economy and its implications for Pakistan‟ (CIDOB Policy Research Project 2014). <www.cidob.org/en/content/download/38315/597263/file/FEBR UARY_2014_SAFIYA+AFTAB.pdf > 3-4 accessed 9 December 2015. 11 Editorial, „Drugged up in Pakistan‟ Aljazeera English (Doha, (10 October 2014); Syed Nayyar Abbas Kazmi, „Pakistan: Not a source but a victim country‟ (United Nations Asia and Far East Institute) Resource Material No. 65, available at: <https://www.unafei.or.jp/english/publications/Resource_Materia l_65.html> 130 accessed 16 July 2016. 12 Editorial, „Poverty, joblessness pushing youth to drug addiction:, The News International (Karachi, February 25, 2011); Farhat Yaqub, “Pakistan‟s drug problem” The Lancet (2013) 381 (9884) 2151; Interview with Nasir Shah, Advocate High Court Peshawar (Swat, 12 July 2016). 108 Pak. Laws on Narcotics: Need for Reforms without realising their harmful effects.13 Something that does not appear on the radar of the relevant actors and merits investigation is biopsychosocial factor which is another reason for drug use disorders and dependence.14 3. Anti-Narcotics Laws In order to gather Pakistani foot-soldiers to fight alongside Afghan Mujahideen against the former USSR troops, the then military ruler General Ziaulhaq was promoting religion at political, state and community levels.15 He also introduced a „move towards Islamisation of criminal laws‟ (collectively called Hudood Order) whereby offences under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) – both based on the Common law system, were merged with the Hudood Order which was based on the Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence.16 The Prohibition of (Enforcement of Hadd) Order of 1979 (President‟s Order No.4, referred to hereafter as PHO) was the first law introduced in the country that dealt with drug use, possession, and production etc. Article 4 of PHO, which deals with owning or possession of intoxicants (Non-Muslims were exempt for keeping small quantities for religious events), reads: - Whoever owns, possesses or keeps in his custody any intoxicant shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to two years, or with whipping not exceeding thirty stripes, and shall also be liable to fine: Provided …. further that if the intoxicant in respect of which the offence is committed is heroin, cocaine, opium or coca leaf, and the quantity exceeds ten grams in the case of heroin or cocaine or one kilogram in the case of opium or coca leaf, the offender shall 13 Karamat Ali, “Causes of Drug Addiction in Pakistan,” Pakistan Economic and Social Review (1980) 18 (3/4) 102; Interview with Pardul Khan, Advocate High Court Peshawar (Swat, 14 July 2016). 14 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) & The Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control, „Drug Use in Pakistan 2013‟ <https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/Survey_Report_Final_ 2013.pdf> 6 accessed 12 August 2016. 15 Yahia Baiza, ‘Education in Afghanistan: Developments, influences and legacies since 1901’ (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2013) p. 139. 16 The Council of Islamic