Pakistani province begins process for mandatory student drug testing

Syed Murad Ali Shah, the Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Sindh province, issued a directive yesterday to begin the legislative process to make drug testing mandatory for all students in private and government educational institutions.

During a meeting convened to review the danger of drug abuse in Sindh schools, Shah directed government officials to draft legislation for mandatory student drug testing. During the discussions, he said he had read several alarming reports of drug abuse at some of the country’s leading universities, and that it was the government’s responsibility to protect students from the growing dangers of drugs. Among those at the meeting were secretaries and provincial ministers for health education and the interior.

Shah named Health Secretary, Fazal Pechuho, Sindh Health Minister, Dr Sikandar Mendhro, Education Secretary, Iqbal Durrani, and Education Minister, Jam Mehtab Dahar, to lead the committee to draft the proposed legislation.

During the meeting, Durrani told the attendees that his office was already preparing a list of Sindh students that he would share with the health department to facilitate the commencing of mandatory drug testing. Shah said that the provincial government would make funds available for drug testing when they were needed.

The proposed mandatory drug testing was announced several weeks after an official with the Anti-Narcotics Force reported that about 67% of university students in Pakistan were using drugs. He also said that, nationwide, approximately 7.6 million people were addicted to drugs, with about 78% users being male, and 22% female.