Alcohol Prohibition in Pakistan is Promoting Major Drug Problems Say Politicians

A member of the Pakistani National Assembly has broken a taboo and called for relaxing the prohibition of alcohol, arguing that it has caused the "major evil" of drugs to flourish in the country. Treasury member Ali Akbar Wains made his plea after the parliamentary secretary for narcotics control told the Lower House that there were over four million drug addicts in Pakistan.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi seconded Wains' suggestion. "In my personal opinion, the government should relax the ban on liquor to arrest the rising trend of the use of drugs like heroin, morphine and hashish among the youth of the country.” Niazi said "It is a fact that restrictions on liquor have resulted in a surge in the use of deadly drugs in Pakistan."