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Pakistanis consume heroin worth 
$1.2b every year

KARACHI — Pakistanis consume $1.2 billion worth of heroin every year, 1.8 per cent of the global market of over $65 billion, according to a report released here by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODP).

Figures on Pakistani drug consumption were released as part of the 2011 World Drug Report, the UNODP’s flagship publication which compares global production, consumption, trafficking and prices of different types of drugs, including opium/heroin, coca/cocaine, amphetamine-type stimulants and cannabis.

The report said that Pakistan’s geographic location makes it vulnerable to the threat of drug usage and trafficking since Afghanistan produces almost 90 per cent of the world’s opium and heroin, of which almost 40 per cent is trafficked through Pakistan, or over 35 per cent of the world’s total.

“Pakistan is particularly vulnerable to the trafficking of Afghan opiates and this poses a burden on public health, criminal justice and security systems,” said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC official based in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials believe that due to transition of drugs from Afghanistan to Pakistan, these are also consumed in the local market and it is a source of increasing addiction amongst Pakistanis.

They also claim that Afghan opium production has resulted in negative social, health and economic consequences for Pakistan and it is a victim country.

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