PESHAWAR – The fourth phase of the ambitious “Drug-Free Peshawar” campaign is set to begin in the second week of June. Under this phase, the remaining drug addicts on the streets of Peshawar will be taken into custody and shifted to rehabilitation centers for treatment. For the first time, transgender individuals will also be included in the campaign and provided access to treatment and rehabilitation.
Separate rehabilitation centers have been established for children, women, men, and transgender persons to ensure tailored support and recovery environments. Moreover, individuals who relapse into drug use will also be eligible for free treatment again under this phase.
According to the agreement signed earlier, rehabilitation centers were obligated to provide free treatment for four months to all individuals who were treated during the third phase of the campaign. To ensure the smooth implementation of the fourth phase, Station House Officers (SHOs) across all areas of Peshawar have been assigned responsibilities. SHOs will identify and take drug addicts into protective custody and hand them over to the Department of Social Welfare for rehabilitation.
To monitor and coordinate the entire operation, a dedicated control room has been set up at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Peshawar.
The launch of the fourth phase was finalized in a high-level meeting chaired by Commissioner Peshawar Division Riaz Khan Mehsud. The meeting was attended by SSP Operations Peshawar Masood Bangash, Additional Deputy Commissioner Rao Hashim Azim, Director Excise Imad Ahmad, Assistant Commissioner Peshawar City Dawood Salimi, District Officer Social Welfare Noor Muhammad Mehsud, representatives of rehabilitation centers, and other concerned officials.
During the meeting, a detailed review of the first three phases of the campaign was conducted. Lessons learned from earlier phases were used to formulate a refined strategy for the upcoming phase, which is being launched under directives from the provincial government.
To date, over 3,800 drug addicts, including women and children, have been successfully treated in the first three phases of what is considered the world’s largest drug rehabilitation campaign. The initiative has received widespread acclaim both nationally and internationally.
Officials believe that with the successful completion of the fourth phase, Peshawar will become the first city in Pakistan to be completely free of drug addicts — a milestone achievement in the fight against substance abuse.
