Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has declared that a rehabilitation center for drug users will be incorporated into the Sehat Card Plus scheme.
On Thursday, a ceremony was conducted in Peshawar to commemorate the end of the third phase of the Drug-Free Peshawar program. Gandapur was the principal guest, joined by members of the province cabinet, National and province Assembly members, government officials, and civil society groups.
During the ceremony, participants who had completed the third phase of the program’s rehabilitation were reunited with their families.
This phase began in November 2024 and rehabilitated 1,239 drug users, including 13 women and 28 juvenile boys. 611 of them were from Peshawar, 536 from other districts in K-P, 48 from Punjab, 10 from Sindh, and 26 Afghans. With an estimated cost of Rs320 million, it is the largest rehabilitation program of its sort.
Speaking at the ceremony, CM Gandapur expressed his joy at seeing rehabilitated folks return to their family. He underlined the goal of making the province drug-free and assisting addicts in reintegrating into society as upright citizens.
He emphasized that this effort has helped people from across Pakistan, including Afghanistan.
“We do not discriminate based on province or nationality,” he assured me.
Gandapur emphasized that the program, which started in 2022, has successfully rehabilitated 2,400 individuals in its first two phases. This includes 1,154 people from Peshawar, 1,039 from other K-P districts, 170 from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, and 34 foreign nationals.
Reaffirming his leader’s vision of a welfare state, Gandapur stressed the government’s commitment to supporting its people. He assured, “Deputy Commissioners only need to bring drug addicts to the designated office, and the government will cover their treatment costs.”
He encouraged the public to hand over addicts for rehabilitation under Sehat Card Plus scheme, promising that the government would take full responsibility for their treatment.
The chief minister also sent a strong message against drugs, saying: “Anything you cannot do openly is wrong. Drugs bring neither happiness nor peace—only destruction. True peace and progress come from following the commandments of Allah.”
