1 in 10 Pul-i-Charkhi inmates addicted to drugs

KABUL): A parliamentary commission has found one in 10 prisoners held at the notorious Pul-i-Charkhi prison east of Kabul is addicted to drugs, President Hamid Karzai’s office said on Thursday.

Wolesi Jirga‘s Commission on Counter-Narcotics deputy head Abdul Ahad Afzali, who met President Hamid Karzai a day earlier, said 636 prisoners at the facility were addicted to drugs.

Afzali urged the president order rehabilitation of the drugs addicts as the existing facilities could provide treatment to only one percent of the nearly one million addicts across the country.

He shared the commission’s recommendations with Karzai, calling for increased cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics in fighting the illicit drug commerce.

A statement from the Presidential Palace said the commission also recommended Afghan border police be strengthened to prevent drug-trafficking.

In response, Karzai said the drug trade that benefitted foreigners had earned Afghanistan a bad name in the comity of nations. He told Afzali the commission’s recommendations would be discussed at a Cabinet meeting.

Political observer Mohammad Hassan Haqyar claimed drugs were supplied to inmates at the Pul-i-Charkhi prison by jail staff. He said visitors were checked thoroughly before entry into the jail.

“How do drugs reach inmates? Obviously, policemen and guards there are involved,” Haqyar said, calling for effective measures to deal with the issue.

ma/mud

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