KARACHI: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, led by Senator Faisal Saleem, met to tackle various pressing matters including some legislation pertaining to preventing drug use in educational institutions.
During this meeting, Senator Mohsin Aziz put forward a bill concerning no drug use in educational institutions. The proposed legislation said that where a student tests positive for drugs, the first offense would receive a warning, the second a 15-day suspension and the third offense would receive penalties and punishment.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) commented on the bill, stating that children are seen as the victim in drug cases and that the criminals are the drug traffickers.
The officials also told the committee that scanning has been accomplished in 80% of educational institutions but that when it comes to drug testing, it is not the ANF’s responsibility to test children.
Senator Shahadat Awan objected to the bill because it was said to be an attempt to infringe on provincial authority. The Ministry of Law supported this position and said that the matter should be left to the education department and not the ANF.
