ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Lieutenant General (r) Syed Salahuddin Tirmizi on Saturday said that the increased use of drugs in youth has become dangerous for society as a whole. He added that the government was well aware of this issue and was paying due attention to eradicate this problem. “We shall have to save our educational institutions from this social evil,” he said, adding, “We have to prevent drug abuse to save our children; it is our social responsibility to curb this evil to make Pakistan a progressive and developed state free of drug addicts.” The minister expressed these views while addressing the participants of a walk on Road Safety and Narcotics Drug Abuse Awareness Programme in the federal capital. The walk was jointly organised by National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP) along with the Narcotics Drug Abuse Awareness Programme. The walk was organised with the collaboration of the Ministry of Narcotics Control from Faisal Mosque to Siachen Road, Islamabad. Lt General (r) Syed Salahuddin Tirmizi, Narcotics Control Secretary Iqbal Mehmood, Anti-Narcotics Force Director General Major General Musarrat Nawaz Malik, NH&MP Deputy Inspector General Ishfaq Ahmed, NH&MP officials, students and teachers attended the walk. Ishfaq Ahmed said that the Narcotics Drugs Abuse Awareness walk was very important to eradicate this social evil. “All our institutions are responsible to prevent this menace. Print and electronic media can play a vital role to spread awareness among masses in order to prevent our youth from this menace of drug addiction. Parents need to care of their children in way that prevents them from indulging in the use of drugs,” he said. He further added that the NH&MP was also trying its level best to educate the youth regarding road safety. He said that through road safety awareness programmes, we can reduce the rate of accidents especially by targeting the youth. Published in Daily Times, February 11th 2018.