Narcotics are destroying our society and youth. 685 deaths per day are occurring on the planet as a consequence of drug utilization or overdose, which is increased than the variety of deaths ensuing from terrorism. The world’s drug economic system is price $435 billion and round $225 billion is required for drug therapy of sufferers globally. Essentially the most generally recovered drug in Pakistan being cannabis, adopted by heroin, opium and cocaine, that are simply smuggled, from Afghanistan proper beneath the noses of involved border forces. Furthermore, the straightforward availability of medication on streets, universities and schools is an absolute failure on a part of police and excise division. Sadly, the rise in instances of drug abuse is among the many youth specifically the scholars of famend universities and schools. The findings of the information present that since 2016, at the very least 9885kgs of heroin, 1440kgs of cannabis and 33kgs of opium have been seized in particular raids performed on instructional establishments. A number of years in the past, a medical scholar from a well known college in Karachi misplaced his life to overdose of a drug (cannabis). Moreover, an identical incident was reported from a famend college in Lahore and several other different instances of deaths from drug overdose go unreported in Pakistan.
The “Management of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997” is a particular regulation which the Legislature had enacted primarily for awarding deterrent punishments to the individuals concerned within the commerce of narcotics in any method. Part 9(c) of the Management of Narcotics Act, particularly offers that whoever contravenes the provisions of Sections 6, 7 or 8 of the management of narcotics act, shall be punishable with dying or imprisonment for all times, or imprisonment for a time period which can lengthen to 14 years and shall even be liable to tremendous which can be as much as a million rupees, if the amount of narcotic drug, psychotropic substance or managed substance exceeds the bounds laid out in clause (b) (1 Kilogram). Nonetheless, sadly the regulation of Management of “Narcotic Substances Act 1997” has develop into the simplest regulation to be misused by the palms of regulation enforcement companies, primarily by the police. Lodging of false FIRs in opposition to harmless residents, faulty investigations, false testimony of police officers and unreliable police witnesses have actually made the regulation of Management of Narcotic Substances Act, much less essential within the eyes of common public in addition to the courts. Narcotics and the police’s abuse of the regulation are nonetheless raging in 2017.
The overview of the FIRs/instances lodged beneath Management of Narcotic Substances Act 1997 within the 12 months 2017 demonstrates the misuse of the aforesaid regulation by the police, by means of lodging fabricated FIRs and most significantly, an utter failure on a part of police and prosecution to conduct flawless investigations in real instances.
Just lately, the honourable Supreme Court docket of Pakistan has acquitted the accused who was dealing with the trial of the FIR registered by the Police Station College City, Peshawar, for crime beneath part 9(c) of the Management of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997. The accused was alleged of transporting 35 kilograms of narcotics. The very apparent malafide of the police was evident from the truth that the accused was a crippled particular person, who had suffered from polio virus and each his legs weren’t regular. There was no clear proof and materials, with out shadow of doubt, to fairly set up the connection of the bodily disabled particular person with the crime. Likewise, the Apex Court docket within the 12 months 2017 acquitted the accused particular person on the bottom that the police was not in a position to fulfill the Apex Court docket that after alleged restoration of 48 packets of narcotics, the samples that have been taken by the police from recovered substance, had safely been transmitted to workplace of chemical examiner with out the identical being tampered with or changed whereas in transit.
Equally, Punjab Excessive Court docket within the 12 months 2017 acquitted the accused dealing with trial of the FIR lodged beneath Narcotic Substances Act 1997 for the possession, import and export, trafficking and financing trafficking of narcotics, on the bottom of lack of concrete proof, and failure to supply the case property with none justification. The failure to supply the case property clearly confirmed that the police had malice in the direction of the accused concerning restoration of the medication. Equally, Punjab Excessive Court docket acquitted the accused allegedly carrying 70 kilograms of heroin, on a sole floor of non-production of case property by the police earlier than the court docket for multiple month, which casted severe doubts with regard to the genuineness of the FIR/case.
Likewise, Sindh Excessive Court docket within the 12 months 2017 acquitted the accused allegedly discovered holding one plastic shopper in his hand, containing narcotics weighing 1050 grams. Regardless of the incident having occurred on a busy highway the place many non-public individuals have been accessible, nevertheless, the investigating officer of the police didn’t attempt to organize any non-public witness of the locality to satisfy the requirement of part 103 Legal Process Code 1898, thus the case misplaced its sanctity and evidentiary worth within the eyes of the regulation. Additionally, in one other case lodged beneath the Management of Narcotic Substances Act 1997 within the 12 months 2017, the Sindh Excessive Court docket acquitted the accused on the bottom that the Police alleged that 1050 grams narcotics was recovered from the possession of the accused. Nonetheless, the police did not ship the pattern of narcotics to the chemical examiner for evaluation. And this regardless of the regulation particularly states that the train of sending pattern for testing of recovered drug was required to be accomplished inside seventy-two hours of the restoration.
Balochistan Excessive Court docket acquitted the accused individuals allegedly carrying 40-kilograms narcotics in two luggage discovered beneath their seats.
Surprisingly, neither the restoration memo nor the FIR contained the seat numbers of the accused individuals and even no tag or documentary proof was on report connecting the accused particular person with the mentioned luggage. Consequently, the case solid affordable doubt concerning the veracity of the case and advantage of doubt which went in favour of the accused particular person. In one other case, Balochistan Excessive Court docket granted bail to the accused who was allegedly carrying 87 kilograms of heroin in his automobile. The police not solely failed to supply any doc proving that the accused was the precise proprietor of the automobile but in addition failed to determine that after the alleged restoration, the substance so recovered was both stored in secure custody or that the samples drawn from the substance have been safely transmitted to the workplace of Forensic Science Laboratory with out being tampered with or changed whereas in transit.
Lastly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Excessive Court docket within the 12 months 2017 additionally acquitted the accused, allegedly carrying 171 Kilograms of heroin within the secret cavities of his truck. Astonishingly, the police officers failed to supply case property (truck) throughout the entire trial and finally the advantage of the sheer negligence on a part of police officers was given to the accused as a matter of proper. In one other case, Peshawar Excessive Court docket granted bail to the accused allegedly carrying 80 kilograms of narcotics, on the grounds that the police witnesses contradicted one another and the prosecution additionally did not carry on report any earlier historical past of accused particular person concerning his earlier conviction or involvement in narcotics case, which might join the accused with the fee of offence.
It’s compulsory upon the police officers to grasp {that a} public workplace is a belief, created within the curiosity and for the advantage of the individuals and since an incumbent of a public workplace is invested with sure powers and charged with sure duties, the powers so delegated to the officer are held in belief for the individuals. It will be important that the malicious acts of the police and negligence within the investigation of the real instances should not be brushed apart. It’s incumbent upon the senior police officers to conduct in-depth inquiries in opposition to the investigation officers and the complainant of the instances registered beneath the Management of Narcotic Substances Act 1997, wherein the accused individuals are in the end acquitted by the courts and the instances are subsequently quashed.
The legislators of Pakistan should introduce new legal guidelines associated to the Narcotics and repeal the legal guidelines inherited from the British colonial period corresponding to legal process code 1898, civil process code 1908, Pakistan penal code 1860, and the Management of Narcotic Substances Act, to fill out the loopholes in present authorized system.
